The manufacturer of the diabetes medication Byetta has been hit with another lawsuit claiming the drug caused a patient to develop pancreatic cancer.

They Byetta lawsuit, filed by plaintiff and widower Jerry Jensen, alleges that his wife, Verla, died from pancreatic cancer caused by her Byetta prescription. The Byetta lawsuit accuses drug maker Amylin Pharmaceuticals of failing to warn users of this potential risk.

According to the Byetta cancer lawsuit, Jensen’s wife was prescribed and used Byetta from 2006 until 2010. In 2010, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Jensen claims he and his late wife were never informed of the full risks of taking Byetta and that Amylin purposefully hid these warnings and/or made them vague.

“Byetta was approved by the FDA in April of 2005 and was marketed to the medical community and general public shortly thereafter. Byetta is a member of the new class of drug known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. In February 2010, concerns were published regarding the GLP-1 drug, including Byetta, and the DDP-4 inhibitors, including Januvia, and their potential linkage with pancreatic cancer,” the Byetta cancer lawsuit states.

Mrs. Jensen was prescribed Byetta shortly after it was approved and the couple didn’t have any opportunity to read or hear about the risks of Byetta pancreatic cancer while she was on the prescription, the lawsuit claims. Jensen alleges that they depended on doctors and the drug maker to provide this warning about Byetta side effects on the pancreas.

Researchers reported in 2010 “that pancreatitis, inflammation of the pancreas, was (greater than) 10-fold more frequently reported as an adverse event for patients administered Byetta and (greater than) 6-fold more frequently reported in patients prescribed Januvia. Both these associations were statistically significant,” the Byetta lawsuit says.

This increased risk of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer have led to dozens of Byetta lawsuits and a Byetta class action lawsuit investigation.

A Widower’s Next Move

Even now, Jensen alleges “The current warnings for the Drug are simply inadequate. The Defendants have failed and continue to fail in their duties to warn and protect the consuming public… .”

It didn’t take long after Verla’s diagnosis for the cancer to turn deadly. She died on Dec. 1, 2011. Jensen is suing for failure to warn, design defect, negligence, breach of warranties, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, loss of consortium and punitive damages.

The Byetta pancreatic cancer lawsuit is Jerry Jensen, et al v. Amylin Pharmaceuticals et al, Case No.: 3:13-cv-02812-AJB-MDD, in the United States District Court Southern District of California.