Top Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed Tuesday to pay around $2.4 billion to settle lawsuits over its Actos diabetes drug, amid cancer claims. The agreement would resolve lawsuits representing some 8,000 people who used the treatment for type 2 diabetes beginning in the late 1990s and claimed the company did not warn them that it increases the risks of cancer. Takeda said it agreed to pay out $2.37 billion if 95 percent of the litigants agree to the deal, rising to $2.4 billion if the number rises to 97 percent or more. The company said nevertheless that it believes the claims of the litigants "are without merit and does not admit liability." Takeda said the settlement does not change its continued commitment to Actos, or pioglitazone hydrochloride. "Actos continues to be available as a treatment option in the U.S., Japan and other countries," it said.