A diabetes patient says that the active ingredient in Onglyza, the drug he uses to control his blood sugar levels, causes saxagliptin heart failure.

California plaintiff Jose S. says that he took Onglyza and/or Kombyze XR, drugs made by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, to manage his type-2 diabetes. He says that the two drugs are brand names for Saxagliptin, a drug that helps lower blood sugar in people with type-2 diabetes.

According to Jose, he took saxagliptin between 2012 until around April 2014. He says that because of his use of saxagliptin, he developed a range of injuries including connective heart failure. He claims that he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure for the first time in May 2013.

The saxagliptin heart failure lawsuit argues that Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca knew or should have known that saxagliptin could cause heart problems in diabetes patients, and intentionally failed to warn patients and medical professionals about the dangers of the drug, and marketed it as safe and effective.

Jose says that had he known that saxagliptin heart failure was a possible side effect of taking the drug, he would not have chosen to take the drug to manage his diabetes, and would have chosen another treatment. He aims to hold Bristol-Mysers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca accountable for his physical, emotional, and financial injury caused by his use of saxagliptin.

Allegedly, the drug companies released this medication onto the market despite the fact that the FDA has urged drug companies to not produce new diabetes drugs that increase a patient’s risk of heart failure and cardiac problems because people with diabetes are already more likely to suffer from these conditions, and taking a drug that worsens this risk is extremely dangerous.

The saxagliptin heart failure lawsuit says that the drug companies did not conduct sufficient research on the drug to determine how it impacts cardiac health. The saxagliptin heart failure lawsuit says that blood sugar is naturally lowered by insulin production, and an enzyme controls the production of insulin. Allegedly, saxagliptin works to lower blood sugar by causing the enzyme to not stop the production of insulin, lowering a diabetic person’s blood sugar more than the person’s body would otherwise be able to do so.

However, the saxagliptin heart failure lawsuit argues that the drug companies did not examine the systemic effects of altering the enzyme’s behavior, saying that “at no time during the development of its saxagliptin drugs did [Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca] perform adequate studies to determine if the drug, and its drastic alterations of the natural uncertain hormone cycle, may cause increased cardiovascular related adverse events,” and that such studies are necessary when developing drug to diabetes patients, who are already at a higher risk of heart failure than others.

Allegedly, the drug companies were negligent in not performing these studies, and posed a significant risk to patient health by releasing these drugs without having confirmed they were safe for diabetes patients.

The Saxagliptin Heart Failure Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-03729, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.