The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety announcement regarding Takeda’s gout medicine Uloric in 2017, warning the public that Uloric showed an increased risk of cardiovascular-related death in patients when compared with those who took the gout medication allopurinol.

The FDA’s warning was based on a clinical trial assessing the risks of the gout medicine Uloric (febuxostat), and involved around 6,000 patients with gout. The clinical trial was a requirement of the FDA’s approval of Uloric in 2009, and preliminary results are now in. Initial data shows that the use of Uloric increases the risk of death from cardiovascular problems.

If you or someone you love has suffered from serious side effects of the gout medicine Uloric, or someone has died from these complications, you may be able to pursue litigation.

Basics of the Gout Medicine Uloric

The gout medicine Uloric (also sold under its generic name, febuxostat) is manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals. A relatively recent addition to the market, the gout medicine Uloric was approved by the FDA back in 2009—less than a decade ago.

Gout, a form of arthritis, is a condition that can cause redness, severe joint pain, and swelling. Uloric works to combat gout by reducing the amount of uric acid in the body.

Unfortunately, the gout medicine Uloric has been linked with some serious side effects that patients may not be aware of, including some that may become fatal.

Uloric Medication Side Effects

Any medication will come with certain side effects. But these side effects should all be included in advertising, marketing and product information. The most severe side effects should be included in Black Box warning labels. But patients may not have been adequately warned about certain major side effects of Uloric, including potentially fatal consequences.

Uloric has been linked with several heart-related side effects including strokes, cardiac ischemia requiring emergency surgery, fatal heart attacks, and non-deadly heart attacks.

After the preliminary results of the clinical trials for Uloric came in, the FDA noted: “The primary outcome was a combination of heart-related death, non-deadly heart attack, non-deadly stroke, and a condition of inadequate blood supply to the heart requiring urgent surgery.

The preliminary results show that overall, febuxostat did not increase the risk of these combined events compared to allopurinol. However, when the outcomes were evaluated separately, febuxostat showed an increased risk of heart-related deaths and death from all causes.”

“Health care professionals should consider this safety information when deciding whether to prescribe or continue patients on febuxostat,” the federal agency noted.

Filing a Lawsuit Over Side Effects of the Gout Medicine Uloric

If you or someone you love has suffered from a heart attack or other serious complications after taking Uloric medication, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by side effects of Uloric, or bring a loved one back to life after an Uloric heart attack, it may be able to help alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses, lost wages and other damages. This investigation is looking for Uloric users in the Chicago area in particular.