Popular diabetes drug Onglyza (Saxagliptin) may be linked to several serious side effects, including several forms of cancer and chronic medical consequences.

In addition, recent studies also indicate patients taking the diabetes drug Onglyza may be at an increased risk of heart attack.

The diabetes drug Onglyza was approved by the FDA in 2009, to regulate blood sugar levels in type-2 diabetes patients.

Due to Onglyza’s treatment mechanism, it does not encourage the body to gain weight like most other diabetes medications.

Onglyza is apart of the incretin mimetic drug family, which work by stimulating insulin production in the pancreas and preventing the liver from releasing too much glucose.

This process not only regulates blood sugar, but also helps ensure that there is sufficient insulin produced in the body.

Without insulin the body cannot properly metabolize food, leading to potentially fatal consequences. The medical community was excited when incretin mimetics were first released, as they were thought to be effective and safe diabetic treatment drugs.

Reported Complications with the Diabetes Drug Onglyza

There have been a number of severe side effects reported in conjunction with the diabetes drug Onglyza, including high rates of hospitalizations related to cardiac complications.

According to the SAVOR study published in the 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, there was a slightly stronger likelihood of cardiac related hospital visits in Onglyza users compared to other medications.

The study consisted of 16,492 type-2 diabetes patients prescribed different diabetes medications, which was meant to help doctors evaluate the different drug therapy choices.

In April 2015, an FDA advisory committee urged the agency to require AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb to include heart failure on Onglyza’s warning label.

Onglyza is also associated with certain types of cancer, particularly pancreatic and thyroid. The FDA warned the public against a potential pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis correlation with incretin mimetics in March 2013.

The announcement had come following a March 2013 study published in Diabetes medical journal, which found a strong likelihood between pancreatic cancer and the diabetes drug Onglyza. The study had analyzed 20 type-2 diabetes patients, eight of which were prescribed incretin mimetics.

These patients each exhibited a pancreas 40% larger than average, and a significantly greater risk in pancreatic cancer development.

The FDA has also warned Onglyza patients against thyroid cancer, which has been a concern for the agency since 2009. The FDA had published a safety communication detailing different studies and results, each of which indicated a higher rate of malignant thyroid tumors in rodents treated with incretin mimetics.

Even though each of these complications are serious, manufacturing companies allegedly failed to warn patients against the side effects of Onglyza.

Patients who have suffered injury from the diabetes drug may be able to file legal action to seek compensation, and should contact a specialized lawyer to determine eligibility.