Did You Take Actos for Diabetes?

If you or a loved one took or is taking Actos for treatment with diabetes, you will want to read below.

This week a jury in Lafayette Louisiana awarded a plaintiff 9 billion dollars in damages against the drug companies for Actos because they knew and concealed the fact that it caused bladder cancer.  In what is being called one of the largest verdicts of all time, the jury ordered Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to pay $6 billion in punitive damages and Eli Lilly and Co. to pay $3 billion, claiming that cancer risks to the diabetes drug Actos were concealed from the public while the drug companies continued to market and sell this dangerous drug to the unsuspecting public.  The jury also awarded the plaintiff $1.475 million in compensatory damages in the suit.

What is Actos?

Actos is the name for the generic, pioglitazone, which is an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels in patients.  Pioglitazone reduces the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. It is in a class of anti-diabetic drugs called thiazolidinediones that are used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The other member in this class is rosiglitazone (Avandia).

In 2011, the FDA issued a warning, alerting patients that taking pioglitazone (Actos) for more than a year may increase their risk of bladder cancer.  Five-year data showed that although there was no overall increased risk of bladder cancer, patients with the longest exposure to the drug, were at greater risk, the FDA said.  In a response to the FDA, manufacturer Takeda claimed that the interim data showed short-term use of the drug was not associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, and “use for more than two years was weakly associated with increased risk.”

That five-year analysis included data on almost 200,000 diabetic patients who were treated with pioglitazone for an average of two years. Patients on the drug for more than a year had a 40% increased risk of bladder cancer compared with those who never took it.

What Should You Do?

If you or a loved one took Actos, ActoPlus Met, ActoPlus Met XR, or Duetact and were diagnosed with bladder cancer, please contact Arguello Law Firm, P.L.L.C. at (800) 257-8676. Our highly skilled and devoted attorneys and staff may be able to help you.  But, do not delay as there are time limits for your claim!