Onglyza belongs to a class of drugs known as incretin mimetics, which stimulate the production of insulin in the pancreas to help regulate blood sugar levels in patients with type-2 diabetes.

Incretin mimetics are a relatively new family of diabetes drugs that gained popularity after Avandia, another diabetes medication, was recalled due to an increase in the risk of cardiac death.

After the Avandia recall pharmaceutical companies and physicians were on the lookout for safer alternatives for type-2 diabetes treatments, and incretin mimetics looked promising. However, incretin mimetics such as Onglyza come with potential risks of their own, and some research suggests Onglyza may be a diabetes drug linked to pancreatic cancer.

Onglyza Pancreatitis and Pancreatic Cancer Risk

In March 2013, the FDA announced it would investigate reports of a possible increased risk of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer from incretin mimetic drugs like Onglyza.

The announcement followed a study published in the March 2013 journal of Diabetes, in which researchers found a strong link between diabetes medications like Onglyza and pancreatic cancer.

In the study, researchers analyzed autopsies performed on 20 people who had diabetes, including 8 who used an incretin mimetic drug such as Onglyza. The results showed that patients who had taken an incretin mimetic had a pancreas that was 40 percent larger than normal.

These patients also showed a 6-fold increase in the number of beta cells in their pancreases, as well as “eccentric” pre-cancerous cell growth and small tumors called adenomas, which can become malignant and cause pancreatic cancer.

Just a month prior, in February 2013, researchers at Johns Hopkins found that diabetics hospitalized with pancreatitis were twice as likely to be taking an incretin mimetic drug to treat diabetes, such as Onglyza, Januvia, Byetta or Victoza.

Onglyza has also reportedly been linked with an increased risk of heart failure and thyroid cancer.

Onglyza Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuits

If you or a loved one have taken diabetes medication and been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, you may consider speaking with an attorney who can provide advice about your possible legal options.