Tepezza

The Tepezza litigation, centralized before Judge Thomas M. Durkin in the Northern District of Illinois in June 2023, consolidates claims that the thyroid eye disease drug caused permanent hearing loss and tinnitus in patients who allege they were not adequately warned of the risk. With 277 actions pending, this is a mid-sized pharmaceutical mass tort at an inflection point: bellwether trial deadlines that had been in place were struck in October 2025, and the hearing-loss trial date has since been pushed to August 2026 — a scheduling shift that has drawn attention as a possible signal of settlement discussions, though no settlement has been confirmed.

For a funder, that kind of scheduling disruption cuts both ways. On one hand, a delayed trial with no confirmed settlement extends the duration horizon a funding structure needs to plan for; on the other, if the deadline change does reflect active negotiation between the parties, it may compress the time to resolution relative to the original bellwether-through-verdict path. Underwriting a claim or portfolio in this docket today should build in optionality for both scenarios rather than assuming either a near-term settlement or a full trial-and-appeal timeline.

Medical-lien exposure in Tepezza claims is centered on audiology treatment, hearing-aid or cochlear-implant costs, and related ENT care, which should be sized against any funding structure regardless of how the scheduling shift resolves. For a firm holding a portfolio of Tepezza claims, diversification across confirmed hearing-loss severity and treatment histories can support portfolio-level financing, with terms structured to accommodate the current scheduling uncertainty rather than a fixed resolution date. Criterica Capital's mass tort finance product applies to claims and portfolios in this litigation, and a structural brief tracking the docket's scheduling developments is available through Criterica Intelligence.

Pre-settlement funding is a non-recourse purchase of a portion of the proceeds of a pending legal claim — not a loan. If the case does not result in a recovery, nothing is owed. Rates, fees, and repayment terms are disclosed in full in the funding agreement, which the applicant’s attorney reviews before signing. Availability and terms vary by state.