A Florida couple has filed an Actos bladder cancer lawsuit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The husband allegedly developed bladder cancer after taking the type-2 diabetes drug.

Plaintiffs Morton and Phyllis Goldberg’s Actos lawsuit said that Morton Goldberg was prescribed Actos in May 2002. His physician recommended Actos after determining other diabetes medications were not sufficient. Actos is typically only prescribed as an alternative treatment, when the patient is shown to either be resistant to other medications or the condition is getting progressively worse.

According to the Actos lawsuit, Goldberg stayed on the medication for more than a decade, ceasing use in 2012, when it was discovered that he had developed bladder cancer. The bladder cancer lawsuit was filed by Goldberg and his wife after they learned that Actos was strongly associated with bladder cancer, and that the company had allegedly concealed this information. The lawsuit noted that because the full list of side effects was not disclosed at the time he chose to use Actos, he could not have made a reasonable decision at the time. Goldberg said that he never would have used Actos if he had known about bladder cancer being a possibility.

Goldberg and his wife are suing Takeda Pharmaceuticals for being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous drug. The charges against the company include negligence, false advertising, and concealing information.

The Actos Bladder Cancer Lawsuit is In Re: Actos Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2299, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

Overview of Actos Complications

Actos was originally sold and developed by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and was released in the United States with Eli Lilly & Co., following its approval by the FDA in 1999. The medication was created to be a treatment drug specifically for type-2 diabetes. Actos is meant to help patients manage their diabetic symptoms, and to encourage the body to manufacture a healthy amount of insulin.

For years, doctors reportedly prescribed Actos to patients without knowing the entirety of the drug’s side effects. Takeda allegedly concealed that Actos may cause bladder cancer after reportedly discovering the possibility in a study in the early 2000s.

On June 15, 2011, the FDA released a public warning to patients and the medical community regarding this association. The warning stated that patients will have a serious risk of developing bladder cancer if they stay on Actos for more than a year. The FDA also recommended that the drug’s warning label be updated to include the possibility of bladder cancer.