First Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuit Starts

The first trial over the alleged bladder cancer risk of Takeda Pharmaceutical’s diabetes drug, Actos, gets underway this week in state court in Los Angeles.

Bloomberg reports the company is facing more than 3,000 lawsuits around the country alleging the drug causes bladder cancer or other serious health issues. Takeda says the drug doesn’t cause bladder cancer.

However, court filings show the company conducted a secret survey of doctors in 2003 to find out if the prescription of Actos would be affected if it had a bladder cancer warning on the label, according to Bloomberg. The survey found that such a warning would hurt sales, according to the Jan. 25 filing by attorneys for the plaintiff.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals has said it co-operated with regulators, physicians, and outside medical experts to make sure health-care providers were informed about the drug’s risks.

Actos was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1999 and became a top-selling diabetes treatment. In 2011, an analysis of a company-sponsored study during an ongoing safety review of Actos by the FDA showed that the drug may pose an increased risk of bladder cancer or heart problems in some patients.

Takeda says the final results of the ongoing FDA study will be available next year, according to Bloomberg.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a dangerous drug, contact Sokolove Law today for a free legal consultation and to find out if a dangerous drug lawyer may be able to help you.

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