Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals face a man’s congestive heart failure lawsuit over allegedly suffering severe cardiovascular injuries among other severe complications.

Plaintiff Christopher H. files the congestive heart failure lawsuit demanding a jury trial in Tennessee federal court. The lawsuit was filed on April 5, 2018.

According to the congestive heart failure lawsuit, Christopher, a resident and citizen of the state of Tennessee, says that he was prescribed Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR. He was prescribed the medication to help lower his blood sugar level as an individual who suffered from type-2 diabetes.

Christopher alleges he began taking the medication in 2013 and was prescribed the medication for one year. However, allegedly as a result of being prescribed Onglyza (saxagliptin), he says he suffered adverse effects including heart failure, congestive heart failure, and cardiovascular injury, the congestive heart failure lawsuit states.

According to the congestive heart failure lawsuit, Christopher “suffered significant bodily and mental injuries, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, embarrassment, inconvenience, loss of earnings and earning capacity, and have and will incur past and future medical expenses.”

Allegations against Onglyza’s manufacturers include them of having known of the risks involved and associated with Onglyza but of continuing to manufacture and market and benefit from the drug’s sales and profits.

The congestive heart failure lawsuit also maintains that Christopher’s health care providers were not aware of the degree of side effects and complications associated with Onglyza.

They state that “prescribing health care providers were unaware of the true degree, incident, and risk of heart failure, congestive heart failure, cardiac failure, and death related to those events associated with the use of Saxagliptin, and, if they had been informed, would have used and prescribed alternative therapies…”

The congestive heart failure lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including design defect, negligence, and failure to warn.

Overview: Onglyza Congestive Heart Failure

There have been a number of severe adverse side effects and complications linked to the type-2 diabetes drug, Onglyza. Some of these side effects include heart failure, congestive heart failure, cardiac failure, and even death.

Onglyza became approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2009. The drug belongs to a class of medications known as incretin mimetics, that are also known as GLP-1 analogues, or glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.

The drug became approved to help treat type-2 diabetes and to control high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is the condition that affects the processing of glucose. Onglyza is taken with proper diet and exercise.

The manufacturers have long been a legal hot seat over failure to notify users of heart failure side effects. Allegations filed in the lawsuits purport that both Bristol- Myers and AstraZeneca began marketing Onglyza in 2009 before conducting clinical trials that would determine whether the drug would increase patients’ cardiovascular risks. At the time, manufacturers allegedly ignored FDA regulations that requested pharm companies to show that new medications would not “result in an unacceptable increase in cardiovascular risk.”

The Congestive Heart Failure Lawsuit is Case No. 5:18-cv-00357-KKC, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.