Sanofi Aventis is facing a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL), consisting of product liability claims filed by patients alleging they developed alopecia after chemotherapy.

A woman from Texas has recently filed a Taxotere lawsuit also alleging alopecia after chemotherapy, and that Sanofi Aventis failed to warn her against this possibility.

Plaintiff Sabrina H. has been reportedly living with alopecia after chemotherapy and has been unable to regrow her hair. Like millions of other women, Sabrina was prescribed Taxotere for chemotherapy treatment after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

After discussing options with her oncologist, Sabrina began her Taxotere treatment regimen on March 9, 2010 and stayed on chemotherapy until July 6, 2010. According to the Taxotere lawsuit, she had reportedly developed permanent hair loss of the scalp in April 2010 and continues to contend with alopecia after chemotherapy.

According to the Taxotere lawsuit, Sanofi Aventis’ failure to warn Sabrina had caused her oncologist not to implement a preventative measure. Sabrina ultimately alleges that alopecia after chemotherapy could have been prevented, and the company is liable.

Overview of Taxotere Hair Loss

Like many other chemotherapy drugs, Taxotere works by targeting rapidly reproducing cells and prevents them from reproducing.

This means that hair follicles are often one of the first groups of cells to be targeted, which results in alopecia. Alopecia is a condition in which the patient develops partial or total permanent hair loss, which is a devastating blow for patients recovering from cancer.

While hair loss is a common side effect of chemotherapy treatment due to the treatment mechanism of the process, permanent hair loss is much less likely and should be cautioned against if associated with certain treatment drugs.

Taxotere has been associated with permanent alopecia after chemotherapy, since its release in the mid-1990s. While it was originally released as a breast cancer treatment drug, it has been approved to treat other variants of the disease.

But injury reports and several studies have indicated the chemotherapy drug may cause permanent hair loss, with the FDA officially warning against this possibility in December 2015. During this time, the FDA issued a label change order for Taxotere to include alopecia because of patient injury reports.

However, Taxotere remains one of the most popular choices for breast cancer treatment, which makes its association with alopecia very troubling. It has also been alleged that Sanofi Aventis was aware of this problem for years, based on the fact that European health authorities released the warning years earlier.

This has spurred serious criticism from the public, with numerous patients choosing to file legal action against the company. Sabrina’s Taxotere lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2740, where it will stand alongside other claims from patients allegedly contending with alopecia after chemotherapy.

Sabrina states that she would not have agreed to take Taxotere if she had been warned against potential alopecia after chemotherapy.

By joining an MDL, Sabrina’s claim will be streamlined through the litigation process and will avoid potential problems like conflicting rulings from different judges. Sabrina is seeking multiple damages from Sanofi Aventis, including several counts of negligence and failure to warn.

This Taxotere Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-04855-KDE-MBN, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Louisiana.