Astra faces 6000 side-effects claims over mind drug

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At pre-trial litigation in Florida, district judge Anne Conway said she will recommend that all of the cases, which are alleging that the treatment causes diabetes, should be sent to home courts across the US for possible trials.

That is set to tot up a huge legal bill for Britain's second-biggest drugmaker, which had wanted the court to send only around 60 claims to trial as test cases. AstraZeneca said doing so would "avoid placing needless burdens" on courts across the US. It claims evidence in the cases "does not back up the allegations that Seroquel was responsible for the plaintiffs' alleged injuries".

But former users say the firm played down Seroquel's diabetes risk. Paul Pennock, a lawyer for former Seroquel users, told Bloomberg the ruling "will get the litigation moving." He added: "The decision will help get a huge group of cases to a state of trial-worthiness."

Seroquel is an AstraZeneca blockbuster, contributing sales of $4.45 billion (£2.7 billion) last year, second only to the firm's ulcer treatment Nexium. In third-quarter results last month the drug giant said it had already spent $623 million in "legal defense costs" for Seroquel litigation. It warned shareholders that "ongoing defence costs and damages, if any, that may be incurred in connection with Seroquel-related product liability claims will result in a charge to profit."

AstraZeneca also said it had paid out $520 million in settlement fees over whistle-blower lawsuits and federal investigations into the drug's sale and marketing. One of the cases was related to "selected physicians who participated in clinical trials," while the other was over the drug being promoted for uses not specified by the pharmaceuticals watchdog. Shares in AstraZeneca rose 3½p today to 2711½p.