Diabetes Drugmakers Get Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuits Thrown Out

Eli Lilly & Co., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Novo Nordisk Inc. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals LLC won dismissal of hundreds of suits alleging diabetes drugs caused pancreatic cancer, as a California federal court said federal law preempts the plaintiffs’ claims.

Lilly and the others couldn’t have added the pancreatic cancer warning the plaintiffs sought without running afoul of federal drug labeling law, Judge Anthony J. Battaglia of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California said.

The branded drugs at issue are a type known as incretin mimetics. They are Janumet and Januvia, made by Merck; ...