A Massachusetts man named George R. has joined hundreds of other plaintiffs who claim that the diabetes drug Actos caused them to develop bladder cancer.

George alleges in an Actos lawsuit filed in June that he “was injured as a result of his use of Actos, and therefore seeks damages for pain and suffering, ascertainable economic losses, attorneys’ fees, reimbursement of cost of obtaining Actos, and reimbursement for all past, present, and future health and medical care costs related to Actos.”

The Actos lawsuit is one of many being filed against the manufacturer of Actos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, alleging the company concealed early testing that showed Actos could increase the risk of developing bladder tumors and cancer in long-term users of the drug.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals is a Japanese company that works with Eli Lilly in the U.S. to bring Actos to the market. According to George’s Actos lawsuit, Takeda and Eli Lilly “concealed and continue to conceal their knowledge of Actos’ unreasonably dangerous risks from Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s physicians, other consumers, and the medical community.  Specifically, Defendants failed to adequately inform consumers and the prescribing medical community about the risk of bladder cancer associated with more than twelve (12) months of Actos ingestion.”

Considering that type-2 diabetes is the most common and fastest growing chronic disease in the U.S., there are many diabetes drugs on the market. George says he never would have risked getting bladder cancer from Actos had he known the full dangers, and would have likely asked for a different drug. However, he says the drug makers kept the potential side effects of Actos hidden from physicians as well as patients, not providing him or his doctor the complete information to make the best choice.

Furthermore, the Actos bladder cancer lawsuits claims that Takeda still hasn’t rectified the issue.

“Despite having actual notice of the dangerous propensities associated with Actos, prior to the date of the Plaintiff’s purchase and use of Actos, the Defendants took inadequate steps to advise consumers or medical providers of the known dangers of Actos consumption, including but not limited to the increased risk of bladder cancer,” the Actos bladder cancer lawsuit says.

George alleges in the Actos lawsuit that the drug makers must have known about these potential side effects of Actos well before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug in 1999.

“Prior to Actos being approved by the FDA, a two-year carcinogenicity study was conducted on male and female rats.  Drug-induced tumors were observed in male rats receiving doses of Actos that produced blood drug levels equivalent to those resulting from a clinical dose,” the Actos lawsuit says.

Unfortunately, this information wasn’t released in time to prevent Actos bladder cancer in George and other patients.

“A three-year liver safety study was also performed, and according to the FDA, that study also demonstrated a higher percentage of bladder cancer cases in patients receiving Actos versus comparators,” the Actos lawsuit says. “On Sept.17, 2010, the FDA issued a Safety Announcement stating it was undertaking a review of the data from an ongoing, ten-year epidemiological study being conducted by Kaiser Permanente to evaluate the association between Actos and bladder cancer. The planned five-year interim analysis demonstrated that the risk of bladder cancer increases with increasing dose and duration of Actos use, reaching statistical significance after 24 months.”

A Too Common Tale

While research linking bladder cancer to Actos indicates that risks increase exponentially for long-term users of the drug (over 12 months), George says he took Actos for less than a year before being diagnosed with bladder cancer.

Fortunately, George is now in remission, but surviving cancer doesn’t come without its own tragedy. He’s now at an increased risk for other ailments and cancers, and has mounting medical bills from the treatment of his bladder cancer.

“To date, Plaintiff continues to suffer from his bladder cancer diagnosis. As a direct and proximate cause of his Actos-induced side effects, Plaintiff has suffered significant pain and suffering, and his quality of life has been severely diminished,” the Actos lawsuit states.

George is suing the drug companies for fraudulent concealment, strict liability, negligence, breach of warranties, and violation of unfair and deceptive trade practices acts.

The Actos bladder cancer lawsuit is Case No. 6:14-cv-01207-RFD-PJH, in the United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual Actos lawsuit or Actos class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Actos bladder cancer lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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