The possibility of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer in Onglyza patients has drawn the attention of both researchers and government regulators.

Onglyza works by stimulating the pancreas of diabetics to better respond to sugar levels and produce hormones to help regulate blood sugar.

While Onglyza is intended to help people with type-2 diabetes control the amount of glucose (sugar) in their blood, the FDA says that Onglyza patients have reported serious side effects, including pancreatitis.

The federal agency announced in 2013 that their experts were evaluating unpublished findings from a group of academic researchers to try to determine if Onglyza could be more strongly linked to pancreatitis. The findings were based on examinations of pancreatic tissue from patients who took Onglyza and related drugs.

According to the FDA, an earlier study found that patients taking drugs in the same class as Onglyza had more than twice the risk of developing pancreatitis. However, other papers had not found a link.

While the FDA’s 2013 Drug Safety Communication cautioned that the agency had not reached any conclusions, allegations of Onglyza pancreatitis remain under scrutiny.

A 2014 article in the peer reviewed journal Diabetes Care looked into the possible link between Onglyza, pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer. Researchers in that study combed through data from 16,492 patients.

Although they found Onglyza patients had a slightly increased risk of developing pancreatitis during a two year period, the study was limited because it only followed patients for a little more than two years, which may not have been enough time for the subjects to develop pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer. The researchers concluded their paper by saying that further research is necessary.

While medical research continues to probe the possible link between Onglyza and pancreatitis, patients who have developed pancreatitis while taking Onglyza may wish to file an Onglyza lawsuit to pursue legal recourse.