Sanofi Aventis is facing a new Taxotere hair loss lawsuit from a Pennsylvania woman alleging the breast cancer drug had caused her permanent baldness. The woman claims that the company knew of the potential risks associated with their drug, and should have warned her against Taxotere hair loss.

Plaintiff Selena T. was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2014, and had discussed chemotherapy treatment with her oncologist. After reviewing the options Selena and her oncologist had agreed to using Taxotere chemotherapy treatment, starting in January 2015 and ending in April 2015.

At some point during her chemotherapy treatment, Selena experienced serious Taxotere hair lossand has not been able to grow her hair back since. It is important to note that at no point before or after her chemotherapy treatment, Sanofi Aventis allegedly failed to warn Selena or her oncologist against Taxotere hair loss.

The FDA warned against permanent Taxotere hair loss, also known as alopecia, in December 2015 after numerous cases of permanent alopecia had been reported. Based on the number of Taxotere hair loss reports, the FDA had required Sanofi Aventis to update the Taxotere warning label to include risk of permanent baldness and that cases of this had been reported.

Selena had allegedly developed permanent alopecia in result of using Taxotere, and had filed legal action against Sanofi Aventis after learning the company knew of the risk before the FDA warning. Sanofi Aventis had alleged known of this risk for years based on the fact that Europe had received earlier warnings of permanent Taxotere hair loss.

Overview of Taxotere Hair Loss

Taxotere was released to the United States in 1996, when the FDA approved to be a chemotherapy treatment option for breast cancer. This drug has been since approved to treat a number of other different cancers, but has been remained a popular choice for women who have to undergo breast cancer treatment.

However, there have been complaints of permanent Taxotere hair loss for years, with Sanofi Aventis stating that hair “generally grows back.” While hair loss during chemotherapy treatment is normal, permanent alopecia is fairly unusual.

Chemotherapy works by attacking rapidly reproducing cells, which makes hair follicles primary targets for the chemotherapy agents. Even though permanent hair loss is a devastating side effect for women undergoing chemotherapy treatment, Sanofi Aventis allegedly failed to warn against Taxotere hair loss.

Selena is filing her Taxotere hair loss lawsuit into multidistrict litigation (MDL) No. 2740, where it will stand alongside other Taxotere claims alleging similar injuries. Selena states that she never would have agreed to use the drug if she had known about the possibility of permanent Taxotere hair loss.

This Taxotere Hair Loss Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-00996, in the U.S. District Court of for the Eastern District of Louisiana.