An insurance company has filed its own Actos bladder cancer lawsuit, alleging Actos manufacturer, Takeda, failed to properly warn patients about the risk of developing Actos side effects.
The lawsuit was filed by Blue Cross in the District Court, Western District of Louisiana and seeks damages for injuries caused by the use of Actos in Blue Cross patients.
“As a result of the defective nature of ACTOS, persons who were prescribed and ingested ACTOS for more than twelve (12) months, including Plaintiff’s insured, have suffered and may continue to suffer from bladder cancer,” the court documents state.
The lawsuit alleges that defendants “concealed and continue to conceal their knowledge that ACTOS can cause bladder cancer from Plaintiff’s insured, other consumers, and the medical community.” Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Takeda has still not provided adequate warnings about the risk of using Actos for more than 12 months. This, Blue Cross alleges, has resulted in and will continue to result in its insured patients suffering from various injuries.
A two-year study of Actos use in rats showed drug-induced tumors in the male rats, the lawsuit noted. In addition, it states that a three-year study conducted on humans, (PROactive study), showed a higher percentage of bladder cancer in patients who received Actos when compared with similar drugs, but that this information was not included in a publicized account of the trial.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an ongoing review of Actos to examine the potential link between the drug and bladder cancer. In 2011, the FDA warned that “use of the diabetes medication ACTOS (pioglitazone) for more than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer.” Court documents note that the FDA calculated that taking Actos for more than 12 months was linked to 27.5 extra cases of bladder cancer per 100,000 person-years compared with people who never used the medication.
Meanwhile, the French Medicines Agency has reportedly suspended use of Actos until a review of the drug is complete.
Blue Cross alleges that Takeda knew or should have known about the risk associated with Actos but promoted the drug as safe and effective. The insurance company claims that there are safer products available on the market for patients, but because of Takeda’s alleged actions, patients and doctors could not have known about the risks.
“The information Defendants disseminated to physicians concerning ACTOS drug products was, in fact, inaccurate, misleading, and otherwise inadequate,” the plaintiffs claim.
As we have posted on our blog previously, there is evidence that Takeda officials destroyed documents and deleted emails from employees, including high-level executives, pertaining to the development and marketing of Actos.
Takeda downplayed the risk of bladder cancer not only to avoid a label change, but to avoid risking decreased sales. The Big Pharma’s care more about profit than the safety of the patient.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with bladder cancer after taking Actos, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Contact one of our Gacovino Lake attorneys at 1-800-246-HURT (4878) for more information.
