Acute kidney injury from Jardiance has sparked a lawsuit filed by a patient who says he didn’t know the medication’s risks.

Plaintiff William B. says he began taking Jardiance in June 2015. By August 2015, he “suffered acute renal failure, resulting in admission to the intensive care unit” at a local hospital. He claims that because of a lack of an adequate warning from the drug’s manufacturer, he was unaware of the risk of acute kidney injury from Jardiance.

Jardiance (empagliflozin), made by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly, is prescribed to maintain lower blood sugar levels in adults with type-2 diabetes. It is in a class of drugs called SGLT2 inhibitors, which work by making the kidneys remove sugar from the body through the urine rather than have it be reabsorbed into the blood.

Type-2 diabetics already are at a heightened risk for kidney disease.

The FDA approved Jardiance in August 2014. The drug has been promoted through nationwide sales and marketing campaigns that, according to William, “willfully deceived plaintiff, his health care professionals, the medical community, and the general public as to the health risks and consequences of the use of Jardiance.”

Acute Kidney Injury from Jardiance Among Risks

When William suffered acute renal failure, he says he did not know the condition could be related to his newly prescribed Jardiance.

Unaware of the risk, he says, he began taking Jardiance per his doctor’s orders. He claims Jardiance was insufficiently tested before being placed on the market and that its harmful side effects outweigh any potential benefits.

Although Jardiance is only approved for blood sugar control in type-2 adult diabetics, the drug has been marketed for off-label uses such as a way to induce weight loss, reduce blood pressure, and improve blood sugar control in type-1 diabetics. This means even a larger population could suffer adverse effects such as diabetic ketoacidosis and acute kidney injury from Jardiance.

Allegedly False Representations Led to Jardiance’s Success

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly allegedly knew of the risk of acute kidney injury from Jardiance and of the increased risk of diabetic ketoacidosis, but did not warn patients. Instead, the drug manufacturers “continued to defend Jardiance, mislead physicians and the public, and minimize unfavorable findings,” William claims.

According to the complaint, Eli Lilly indicates Jardiance generated revenue of $19.3 million in 2015. In the first quarter of 2016, the drug generated $38.2 million.

William suffered acute kidney injury from Jardiance because the drug companies allegedly made material misrepresentations to the health care industry and to the general public. Among the alleged misrepresentations were:
“Stating that Jardiance had been tested and found to be safe and effective for the treatment of diabetes … Concealing, misrepresenting, actively downplaying the severe and life threatening risks of harm to users of Jardiance, when compared to comparable or superior alternative pharmaceutical therapies; and … Misrepresenting Jardiance’s risks of unreasonable, dangerous adverse side effects.”

The complaint insists the representations were made “without any reasonable ground for believing them to be true.”

The Acute Kidney Injury from Jardiance Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-01153-JFC in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Division.