TOKYO: A Japanese court ordered the government and three pharmaceutical manufacturers to compensate hepatitis patients who contracted the disease from a tainted blood-clotting product, news reports said on Saturday.

The Tokyo district court ruling handed down on Friday marked the third time a bench has found the state and manufacturers responsible, following two earlier rulings in Osaka and Fukuoka, the Asahi and Yomiuri newspapers said.

The Tokyo court awarded 260 million yen ($2.2 million) to 13 of 21 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, the papers said. More than 80 patients have filed similar lawsuits at five courts across the country.

The plaintiffs say they contracted hepatitis C while using defective blood-clotting medicines, mostly in the 1980s.

Quelle:AABB BRIEF, 25.03.07