Have you taken Tasigna for CML and later suffered from serious side effects? You may be able to pursue litigation. The leukemia medication Tasigna, manufactured by Novartis, has been around for a decade and grown in popularity.

Unfortunately, taking Tasigna for CML (chronic myeloid leukemia) has been linked with serious complications, including a condition known as peripheral vascular disease.

Background of Tasigna

Tasigna (also sold under the generic name nilotinib) is a leukemia treatment manufactured by Novartis. Tasigna was specifically approved to treat chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia cancer or CML.

Tasigna for CML was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2007 and has grown steadily more popular ever since. Indeed, Tasigna is now one of the most widely used cancer drugs available—in fact, in 2016 alone, this medication brought in $1.7 billion in sales. Tasigna is part of a class of drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Tasigna is the first of tyrosine kinase inhibitors to include the possibility of discontinuing therapy but maintaining that molecular response with Treatment-free Remission (TFR), and its label was updated in 2017 to include this information.

Unfortunately, despite these dramatic steps forward and the benefits this would offer patients, Tasigna has also been associated with some severe complications.

Side Effects of Taking Tasigna for CML

A growing number of patients are claiming that they were not given adequate warning about the risks of taking Tasigna for CML, including atherosclerosis. Essentially, when a patient suffers atherosclerosis, their artery walls thicken and plaque builds up, which limits essential blood flow and causes peripheral vascular disease.

Peripheral vascular disease, sometimes known as peripheral arterial disease (PAD), can involve symptoms including cramping, pain, or tiredness, as well as difficulty walking or climbing stairs. The symptoms of peripheral vascular disease often lessen with rest, but physical activity once again sparks these symptoms.

The loss of blood circulation from peripheral vascular disease can become a serious risk, even leading to major cardiovascular issues. In extreme cases, when the artery becomes totally blocked from peripheral vascular disease, patients may suffer from gangrene or require limb amputation. A carotid artery affected by peripheral vascular disease may result in a stroke.

The FDA required that Novartis update its Black Box warning label for Tasigna to include the risk of peripheral vascular disease.

Filing a Tasigna Lawsuit

Some patients claim that Novartis was aware of the risk of Tasigna side effects, yet failed to warn the public and the medical community about these risks for a substantial period of time.

If you or someone you love has suffered from side effects like peripheral vascular disease or related conditions after taking Tasigna for CML, you may be able to file a Tasigna lawsuit against Novartis. Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by these side effects, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.