A woman and resident of Florida has filed a products liability claim against the manufacturers of Taxotere after she allegedly suffered from permanent and disfiguring alopecia, commonly known as permanent hair loss.

The plaintiff is Delores D., and she files the Taxotere lawsuit in Louisiana federal court. The defendants facing the alleged accusations are Sanofi S.A. and Aventis Pharma S.A.

Against these defendants, she files claims including but not limited to: Strict Products Liability, Negligence, Negligent Misrepresentation, Fraudulent Concealment, Fraud and Deceit, and Breach of Express Warranty.

According to the Taxotere lawsuit, she alleges that the defendants “engaged in unfair, false, and/or fraudulent acts” explicitly violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The violations, according to the Taxotere lawsuit, include inaccurate information regarding Taxotere, misrepresenting the “characteristics” of Taxotere, and failing to disclose known side effects known to be a result of taking Taxotere.

According to the Taxotere lawsuit, the plaintiff contends that after she took Taxotere, she suffered actual damages due to the “serious and dangerous side effects” endured.

Taxotere Lawsuit Joins Others in MDL

Delores’ claims are filed as part of a large multidistrict litigation, or MDL, centered on allegations that the drug Taxotere causes permanent alopecia, or permanent hair loss.

The Taxotere lawsuit states that manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis allegedly failed to accurately and sufficiently warn patients and medical community at large of the potential adverse side effects that may result, including permanent alopecia.

Plaintiffs in the Taxotore MDL are women who contend that if Sanofi-Aventis had properly stated the adverse side effects and the potential risk involved in acquiring permanent alopecia, they would have allegedly never been prescribed Taxotere, and instead would have used a different chemotherapy drug called Taxol. Taxol is a similar effective drug but does not present as great a risk of permanent alopecia.

These cases have been consolidated into one case before a federal judge in New Orleans under the MDL process.

Taxotere Facts

Taxotere, also known as docetaxel, is a drug used in chemotherapy treatment in women diagnosed with breast cancer. It can also, however, be prescribed to those diagnosed with, advanced stomach cancer, head and neck cancer, metastatic prostate cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer.

Taxotere, part of a family of drugs known as taxanes, is given through a vein, or intravenously, during one hour infusion cycle, every 3-4 weeks. The drug is prescribed to try and limit the multiplication of the cancer cells dividing and growing by being an anti-mitotic agent, denoting that it obstructs cellular division.

It is commonly prescribed along with a combination of other drugs such as cyclophosphamide, fluorouracil, doxorubicin, capecitabine, and cisplatin.

In addition to permanent alopecia, another potential side effect is neutropenic enterocolitis, defined as being a “necrotizing inflammatory condition which typically involves the caecum and, sometimes, can extend into the ascending colon or terminal ileum.”

Delores’ Taxotere Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-07306-KDE-MBN and is part of the Taxotere MDL In re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No 2740, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.