A woman from California who developed type-2 diabetes after taking Lipitor is adding her claim to the multidistrict litigation against Pfizer.

Plaintiff Thelma V. is suing Pfizer, the maker of Lipitor, alleging that drug caused her to develop type-2 diabetes. She says she took the cholesterol-lowering drug under the direction of her physician from 2007 to 2011 and was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes in March 2010.

Thelma is raising claims for negligence, negligent misrepresentation, negligent design, defective product design, failure to warn, breach of warranty, fraud and misrepresentation, constructive fraud, and unjust enrichment. In her request for relief, she asks the court for an award of punitive damages based on Pfizer’s alleged concealment of vital safety information from patients and physicians.

Lipitor Type-2 Diabetes Litigation

Thelma’s Lipitor lawsuit is part of a multidistrict litigation that now contains over 2,000 separate Lipitor lawsuits. Named defendants include Pfizer and its related companies, as well as Greenstone LLC, a subsidiary of Pfizer that makes a generic version of the cholesterol drug.

According to the master complaint for the MDL, the plaintiffs are women who took the drug to lower their cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease and who later were diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. They now allege their type-2 diabetes is a Lipitor side effect.

Concerns Over Lipitor

Lipitor, or atorvastatin calcium, is a type of drug known as an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, more commonly referred to as a “statin.” It has been on the market since first earning FDA approval in December 1996.  Sales of the drug have been impressive to say the least. In 2011 alone, Lipitor sales in the U.S. reached $7.7 billion.

Whatever relationship there may be between Lipitor and type-2 diabetes isn’t scientifically established. Researchers suspect the drug may have a harmful effect on cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin.

What is known is that women appear to be particularly at risk for developing type-2 diabetes after taking Lipitor. One study published in 2012 in the Archives of Internal Medicine (now JAMA Internal Medicine) concluded that treatment with statins like Lipitor was associated with an increased risk of new-onset type-2 diabetes in post-menopausal women.

The current FDA-approved label for Lipitor mentions that increases in HbA1c and fasting serum glucose have been reported in association with statins, including Lipitor. Pfizer added this notice in 2012, complying with a request from the FDA. The label does not specifically mention any risk of Lipitor diabetes. However, plaintiffs allege Pfizer did amend the Lipitor labeling for Japan to include a warning that diabetes was a “Clinically Relevant Adverse Reaction.”

The master complaint alleges that Pfizer did not adequately warn the plaintiffs about the alleged risks of Lipitor diabetes. Plaintiffs say that if they had been properly warned, they would not have taken Lipitor. Based on the alleged concealment of essential information, the plaintiffs also argue that any applicable statute of limitations should not bar their claims, as their awareness that they had a legal claim was delayed by the defendants’ alleged concealment.

The Lipitor MDL is In Re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2502, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.