Actos Litigation Moves Forward

PHOENIX, AZ, March 05, 2012 (Press-News.org) The first hearing was recently scheduled for a wave of lawsuits against diabetes drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Thousands of patients who relied on a diabetes drug called Actos say that Takeda failed to warn them that the drug would drastically increase their risk of developing bladder cancer. These Actos bladder cancer sufferers believe that Takeda put profits before patient safety and pocketed billions while making diabetics sick.

Takeda's Blockbuster Diabetes Drug

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved Actos in 1999 to help people with type 2 diabetes control their insulin levels. Insulin is a naturally occurring substance in the body that regulates a person's blood sugar levels by moving blood sugar to cells for storage. Individuals who develop type 2 diabetes cannot control the amount of sugar in their bloodstreams because of an inability to use insulin normally.

Actos, also called Pioglitazone, increases a person's insulin sensitivity and thereby helps regulate blood sugar levels. The regulation of blood sugar levels is crucial for those with diabetes because high blood sugar levels can lead to kidney damage, nerve damage, infections, blindness and death.

The diabetes drug was a financial blockbuster for Japanese-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. and continues to generate billions of dollars in sales. In 2011, Actos sales accounted for about 84 percent of sales of diabetes drugs in its class. Estimates are that Takeda makes $3 billion to $4.8 billion per year from Actos sales in the United States.

Signs of Trouble

In 2005, a two-year scientific study was conducted by exposing lab rats to Actos. The rats developed drug-induced tumors, but Actos users say the company failed to warn its customers of the study results.

Problems worsened when another study showed that patients taking Actos for a long time were more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who took other insulin-regulating medications.

With Actos dominating its class and bringing in billions of dollars, Takeda was not eager to share this potentially damaging evidence with the world. That is why Takeda continued hawking Actos despite growing evidence that the drug was giving thousands of people cancer.

The number of Actos-linked cancer cases continued to grow and created a public outcry in some markets. Takeda reluctantly yanked Actos from the German and French markets in 2011, but continued to sell the drug in the United States because the FDA refused to stand in the drug company's way.

Takeda's Denial Game

The FDA issued a much-ignored warning about Actos cancer risks back in 2010, but continues to allow the drug to be sold today. The drug is still widely available despite thousands of lawsuits cropping up in Arizona and around the country on behalf of people who suffer from Actos bladder cancer.

Takeda maintains that the benefits of Actos outweigh the potential cancer risk and stresses that it has more than a decade of substantial data showing the benefits of its drug.

"Takeda is confident in the therapeutic benefits of Actos and its importance as a treatment for type 2 diabetes," the company wrote in a recent statement. "As a science- and evidence-based company, Takeda firmly stands behind the substantial data available."

Those who developed cancer after taking Actos are not convinced that the data is on the company's side.

"People should not run the risk of getting bladder cancer from treating their diabetes given the many other excellent therapies available," one attorney for an Actos cancer patient said.

Actos litigation is being pursued in several states, including Arizona, Illinois and California. The first hearing on a batch of Actos lawsuits will occur in a Louisiana courtroom on March 22 before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty. The judge is expected to rule on whether the bladder cancer patients' cases can be consolidated into a class action. Class action lawsuits are a form of litigation in which multiple people harmed by the same drug can sue the drug manufacturer as a unit. This is highly efficient because it means that witnesses and evidence do not have to be repeated in the thousands of Actos cases out there.

The majority of Actos lawsuits relate to the company's failure to warn its customers that there was a serious risk of cancer for diabetics who took the drug for more than a year. If you have developed bladder cancer after taking Actos, it is important to contact an Actos bladder cancer attorney who is experienced in complex litigation and able to hold Takeda accountable for putting profits before people.

With offices in Phoenix and Scottsdale, the Actos lawyers, at the Knapp & Roberts law firm, have experience handling Arizona personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death cases. If you have a legal matter you wish to discuss with a Phoenix personal injury attorney, please contact us right away for a free personal injury consultation. Visit our website http://www.krattorneys.com/ for more information or call us at 480-991-7677 to discuss your legal options.

Knapp & Roberts - Phoenix Office
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Knapp & Roberts - Scottsdale Office
8777 North Gainey Center Drive
Scottsdale AZ 85258
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