Diabetes drug Onglyza can cause serious side effects that can be deadly to some patients.

Approved by the FDA in 2009 to help control high blood sugar, the popular drug from Astra Zeneca saw fast sales because it doesn’t cause weight gain, unlike many other blood sugar control medicines.

Diabetes Drug Onglyza Works on the Pancreas

Onglyza reduces the amount of sugar that the liver releases overnight, resulting in lower blood sugar in the morning. It also can help lower after-meal blood sugar spikes by helping the body increase insulin levels after eating.

Diabetes drug Onglyza also works by increasing the number and size of the cells that secrete insulin in the pancreas. These cells are called beta cells, and they either shrink or die in people with type-2 diabetes, causing these patients to experience a reduction in insulin.

A 2013 study found the beta cells that Onglyza helped produce were abnormal. These beta cell abnormalities were only seen in patients who took drugs such as Onglyza.

Onglyza side effects allegedly include benign tumors that can transform into cancer in the pancreas.

Researchers who examined the pancreases of deceased patients who had taken diabetes drug Onglyza and similar incretin drugs discovered pre-cancerous cells in those  pancreases.

In 2011 a link between patients taking Onglyza and pancreatitis was established. When the pancreas becomes inflamed, the condition is called pancreatitis, which often requires hospitalization because the condition is painful and can be deadly.

The FDA advises doctors to closely monitor patients on diabetes drug Onglyza because of the number of postmarket reports from patients who have suffered from acute pancreatitis after taking the drug. The FDA also advises that Onglyza be discontinued in cases where pancreatitis is suspected.

Those who suffer from episodes of pancreatitis are more at risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Some doctors believe that Onglyza medication and other incretin-based medicines can cause an increased risk of thyroid cancer as well.

Increased Risk of Heart Failure

Researchers wanted to know if Onglyza could offer any protection against heart ailments. Their 2013 study actually found that patients who took Onglyza had an increased risk for heart failure.

When the heart pumps blood at an abnormally slow rate, it is known as heart failure, causing the body to become deficient in oxygen and nutrients. Over time, fluid retention leads to congestive heart failure.

Diabetes drug Onglyza should be avoided by those at risk for heart failure, according to Dr. Anthony DeMaria, editor in chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, in a Reuters interview.

Onglyza’s own website tells patients who have had pancreatitis, gallstones, a history of alcoholism, or high triglyceride levels to talk to their doctors before starting Onglyza medication.

The website also cautions that Onglyza can cause joint pain that can be severe.

If you have taken Onglyza and suffered any side effects, you could be eligible for compensation through a class action lawsuit.