A new Janumet pancreatic cancer lawsuit has joined the existing litigation over the alleged link between Janumet to an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Plaintiff Janet Johnson filed this pancreatic cancer lawsuit on behalf of Ruthie Lee Martin, who died after using Janumet. Martin took the drug between August of 2009 and September of 2010. However, in March of 2010, Martin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, the disease killed Martin in May 2012.

The pancreatic cancer lawsuit alleges that Janumet, a member of a family of drugs called incretin mimics, can cause life-threatening pancreatic cancer. This family also includes Victoza, Januvia and Byetta.

The Janumet lawsuit echoes claims made by other Januvia pancreatic cancer lawsuits. Specifically, the Janumet lawsuit alleges that Januvia can cause pancreatic cancer, and that the drug’s maker Merck  was aware, or reasonably should have been aware, of this potential life-threatening complication. The Janumet lawsuits further allege that the manufacturers failed to act on this information, ultimately leading to the death of individuals like Martin.

The Janumet pancreatic cancer lawsuits have taken the form of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) or mass tort. MDLs are similar to class action lawsuits. In both MDLs and class action lawsuits, a group of plaintiffs allege that they have suffered similar injuries at the hands of the same defendant.

Group lawsuits like MDLs and class action lawsuits are designed to help streamline the legal process by combining tens, hundreds, or even thousands of potential individual suits into a single class action lawsuit. Drug lawsuits like the litigation over alleged Januvia pancreatic cancer tend to take the form of MDLs, since the plaintiffs in drug lawsuits tend to be scattered across the country. This makes them unlikely to coordinate a class action lawsuit from the beginning, but still likely to file similar individual lawsuits. Similar individual lawsuits over the same issue are ideal for inclusion in a single MDL.

A Januvia class action lawsuit investigation has been launched to explore the possibility of legal action against the makers of Januvia, as well as the related type-2 diabetes medications mentioned above. These pancreatic cancer lawsuits seek legal redress, alleging that the drugs are dangerous, and have caused patients to develop lethal pancreatic cancer. These lawsuits seek the cost of treatment, compensation of lost income potential and wrongful death, as well as punitive damages to compensate both victims of pancreatic cancer and their surviving family members.

The Janumet Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuit is Janet Johnson v. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation, Case No. 3:14-cv-00897-AJB-MDD, filed within the Janumet MDL In re: Incretin-Based Therapies Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2452, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.