Sanofi Aventis is facing a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL), consisting of product liability claims alleging Taxotere side effects.

One of the most recent claims comes from an Oklahoma woman, alleging she experienced hair loss as a direct result of these allegedly undisclosed Taxotere side effects.

Plaintiff Laura K. allegedly developed significant hair loss during the course of her chemotherapy treatment and says it was not properly mentioned on the list of Taxotere side effects. According to the Taxotere lawsuit, Laura had been prescribed the drug for typical treatment purposes soon after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011.

During the course of her chemotherapy treatment regime, Laura says she  suffered significant hair loss and has been unable to regrow it. Laura filed legal action soon after discovering other women experienced similar Taxotere side effects, and also allege Sanofi Aventis failed to warn them.

Overview of Taxotere Side Effects

Taxotere (docetaxel) was approved by the FDA in the mid-1990s for breast cancer treatment but was later approved to treat other cancers. Taxotere remains one of the most popular treatment choices for breast cancer treatment, but recent complaints of permanent hair loss have left the medical community and patient population concerned.

Taxotere and other chemotherapy treatments work by attacking rapidly reproducing cells, which means hair follicles are some of the first groups of cells attacked. This makes hair loss a fairly common side effect in chemotherapy treatment, but most patients can expect their hair to regrow at some point after their treatment cycles are complete.

This has allegedly not been the case for numerous Taxotere patients, who allege they developed permanent hair loss as a direct result of the chemotherapy drug. The FDA issued an official order to update Taxotere warning label to include permanent hair loss in December 2015, after cases of alopecia had been reported.

It has been alleged that Sanofi Aventis had known permanent hair loss was associated with Taxotere side effects for years because European health officials sent out warnings years before. Laura had agreed to Taxotere chemotherapy treatment after her oncologist had reviewed the marketing materials provided by Sanofi Aventis.

These marketing statements had indicated this drug was safe and effective for breast cancer treatment. However, Laura says that wasn’t the case for her.

At all times relevant, Laura says she only used Taxotere during her chemotherapy treatment sessions and followed all medical advice given by her healthcare professionals. Laura states she had no way to reasonably discover permanent hair loss was linked to Taxotere side effects, until the FDA released it’s December 2015 warning.

Laura states she would not have agreed to use the chemotherapy drug if she had known about the potential long-term Taxotere side effects. Laura’s Taxotere lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2740, where it will stand alongside other claims alleging similar Taxotere side effects.

By joining an MDL, Laura’s claim will be streamlined through the litigation process and will avoid potential problems like conflicting rulings from different judges.

This Taxotere Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-02359-KDE-MBN, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Louisiana.