The gout drug Uloric has been popular ever since its FDA approval in 2009. Unfortunately, more and more reports of complications—including Uloric heart deaths—are casting a shadow over the medication.

In response to clinical trial results, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about the increased risk of Uloric heart deaths associated with the gout drug. In some cases, patients and families affected by Uloric complications have chosen to pursue litigation over side effects.

Patients who have suffered from complications after using Uloric, or even died after using Uloric, may be able to join a lawsuit investigation looking into Uloric side effects and Uloric heart deaths.

Background of Uloric

Uloric (also known by its generic name, febuxostat) was first approved by the FDA as a treatment for gout back in 2009. Uloric is manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Patients suffering from gout, a form of arthritis, may experience a number of symptoms, such as swelling, redness, and severe joint pain. Gout is associated with excess amounts of uric acid, so Uloric works to treat gout by reducing the amount of uric acid in the body.

Despite its popularity, Uloric has been associated with some serious cardiovascular side effects, and even Uloric heart deaths.

Uloric Heart Deaths

Any medication is expected to come with certain mild or rare side effects, but patients must be given adequate warning about these risks. But patients may not have been adequately warned about the risk of side effects.

When Uloric was initially approved by the FDA, Takeda was required to undergo a clinical safety trial for the drug. The clinical safety trial, which involved more than 6,000 gout patients, found that patients taking Uloric face a significant cardiovascular risk, which can lead to cardiac arrest or even death. According to the study, Uloric, when compared with another gout drug, allopurinol, carries with it an increased risk of Uloric heart deaths like a heart attack.

“The primary outcome was a combination of heart-related death, non-deadly heart attack, non-deadly stroke, and a condition of inadequate blood supply to the heart requiring urgent surgery. The preliminary results show that overall, febuxostat did not increase the risk of these combined events compared to allopurinol. However, when the outcomes were evaluated separately, febuxostat showed an increased risk of heart-related deaths and death from all causes,” the FDA said in a statement.

The FDA is now facing pressure from the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen to remove Uloric from the drug market in the United States. According to a petition from Public Citizen, there is “overwhelming evidence that the serious cardiovascular harms of [Uloric] outweigh any purported benefit.”

Filing an Uloric Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has suffered from a heart attack or other serious side effects of Uloric, you may be able to join a free Uloric lawsuit investigation. While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by Uloric cardiovascular risk, or bring back victims of Uloric heart deaths, litigation may be able to help alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.