Manufacturers of the Taxotere breast cancer drug, Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, face a recent lawsuit filed by a woman alleging the drug caused her to suffer permanent hair loss side effects to which she says that she was allegedly never warned about.

Plaintiff Dorothy B. files the Taxotere breast cancer drug lawsuit, joining a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL), against the company in Louisiana federal court. The lawsuit was filed on May 17, 2018.

According to the Taxotere breast cancer drug lawsuit, her spouse James B., also makes a claim alleging loss of consortium for the permanent hair loss side effects his wife suffered from. Both are current residents of the state of Alabama.

Dorothy says that she used Taxotere (docetaxel), a chemotherapy medication prescribed to treat advanced-stage breast cancer, between September 28, 2009 and November 30, 2009.

The Taxotere breast cancer drug lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including failure to warn, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and fraud and deceit.

Overview: Taxotere Breast Cancer Drug

Thousands of women across the country have filed Taxotere breast cancer drug lawsuits alleging the manufacturer of failing to warn women of permanent hair loss side effects, also known as permanent alopecia. Accusations against the company accuse them of having negligently designed and manufactured Taxotere, of selling a defective and unsafe product, and of causing women across the country to develop permanent alopecia side effects due to their lack of warnings and omissions of said side effects.

Taxotere is an advanced stage breast cancer medication manufactured by Sanofi Aventis that became approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Aug. 18, 2004. In addition to its treatment of advanced stage breast cancer, it may also be prescribed to treat advanced stomach cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic prostate cancer, and head and neck cancer.

Administered intravenously, Taxotere is part of a family of drugs known as taxanes. Taxanes help fight off cancer by being an anti-mitotic agent, or one that helps prevent cancer cells from dividing and spreading.

Although hair loss is a very real side effect of chemotherapy, and one in which women undergoing chemotherapy treatment are very well-aware of, permanent hair loss is not one often expected. Most women presume that post-chemotherapy treatment their hair would grow back, at whatever rate. Permanent hair loss side effects has proven to be a very real and devastating side effect to many women, influencing the growth of all hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes.

A study published in 2012 in the Annals of Oncology by Kluger concluded that permanent hair loss is an associated side effect of Taxotere stating, “Permanent and severe alopecia is a newly reported complication of the FEC-100 docetaxel breast cancer regimen.” Results of the study also indicated that “No spontaneous regrowth of the scalp hair was noted. Treatment including vitamins… proved to be ineffective.”

The Taxotere Breast Cancer Drug Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-05012, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Taxotere MDL is In re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2740, in the same U.S. District Court in Louisiana.