A former cancer patient effectively joined multidistrict legislation (MDL) No. 2740 when she filed her lawsuit on July 14, 2017 against Sanofi Inc. and related companies involved in the development and distribution of the chemotherapy drug Taxotere. Many former recipients of the drug treatment have alleged that it causes permanent chemo hair loss.

Taxotere, a brand name for the active agent docetaxel, was administered by injection to plaintiff Roberta H. between April 30 and May 28, 2014 in the State of Michigan.

Roberta alleges that complete chemo hair loss occurred sometime after this treatment window, but to this present day her hair has not grown back. This Taxotere lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, where the Taxotere MDL is currently proceeding.

Chemo Hair Loss Warnings Outside U.S.

According to the long form legal documentation in the MDL, the risk of alopecia or permanent chemo hair loss was known to Sanofi Inc. In 2005, a study known as GEICAM 9805 which had been sponsored by Sanofi demonstrated that approximately 9% of patients taking Taxotere had persistent and long-lasting chemo hair loss of 5-10 years or more.

The company had allegedly disclosed the potential side effect of permanent chemo hair loss to organizations that regulate medications in other countries and to patients, but failed to do so domestically. Not even the scientific community was engaged to run further studies on this disturbing adverse effect of Taxotere treatment.

According to the allegations of the MDL, numerous women were taken advantage of by Sanofi Inc. by this alleged act of concealment. Since Taxotere is a chemotherapy drug primarily used in the treatment of breast cancer, the patients who suffer ongoing hair loss are primarily women.

These women, of which Roberta H. is an example, were just trying to make medication decisions that would ultimately allow them to survive cancer, the claim states. They could have avoided the risk of permanent chemo hair loss had that danger been specifically outlined on the drug’s label, the lawsuit alleges.

The long form documentation states that the company went through multiple label changes in the U.S. since the drug’s approval and not one of them stated anything about permanent alopecia as a possibility. The first remote warning about such a possibility with treatment finally happened in December 2015 a full ten years after the GEICAM 9805 study.

Complaints in Chemo Hair Loss Lawsuit

Roberta brings the following complaints against Sanofi Inc. and affiliates in the chemo hair loss lawsuit: strict products liability, failure to warn, misrepresentation, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, concealment, fraud and deceit, and Breach of Express Warranty.

Roberta is asking for a trial by jury and a favorable judgement that would seem equitable and just. She requests compensatory damages of not less than $75,000 in addition to payment for all costs of the lawsuit including attorney, filing, and other court costs.

The Chemos Hair Loss Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-06753-KDE-MBN, and is part of the Taxotere MDL In Re: Taxotere (docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MSL No. 2740, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.