A diabetes patient from Tennessee has filed an Invokana kidney failure lawsuit, seeking to hold Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson accountable for his acute kidney injury.

Plaintiff Scot S. says he took Invokana from February to May of 2015. He says he suffered a bout of acute kidney failure after he started taking Invokana.

Scot’s Invokana kidney failure lawsuitnames as defendants Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., its parent company Johnson & Johnson Co., and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp.

Scot says Tanabe and J&J collaborated in the development of Invokana. Janssen later acquired the marketing rights to the drug and has since marketed and distributed it throughout the United States, he says.

Scot believes his acute kidney failure was preventable. He now claims it resulted directly from the defendants’ supposed failure to properly evaluate the risks associated with Invokana and to publicize information about those risks.

He says he never would have used Invokana if the defendants had properly disclosed the associated risks.

Invokana, or canagliflozin, is a drug used to help lower the excessive levels of blood sugar associated with type 2 diabetes. It was introduced to the U.S. market in 2013 following initial FDA approval.

Invokana is one of a newer class of diabetes drugs known as sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, or SGLT-2 inhibitors. These drugs lower blood sugar levels by inhibiting reabsorption of glucose in the kidneys, causing that excess glucose to be excreted in the urine. Invokana was the first of these drugs to earn approval from the FDA.

In June 2016, the FDA announced it would strengthen the existing warning about the risk of acute kidney injury associated with Invokana and other SGLT-2 inhibitors. The agency noted that acute kidney injury is “a serious condition in which the kidneys suddenly stop working, causing dangerous levels of wastes to build up in the body.”

From March 2013, when Invokana was initially approved for U.S. sales, through October 2015, the FDA says it received 101 confirmable cases of acute kidney injury in patients who had been taking Invokana or another SGLT-2 inhibitor.

About half of the reported cases occurred within one month of starting the drug, the FDA says, and most cases improved after discontinuing it. The agency notes other such cases are likely to have occurred without having been reported.

Invokana Kidney Failure Lawsuit Alleges Companies Failed to Warn Patients

Scot refers to some of these adverse event reports in his Invokana kidney failure lawsuit. In light of these reports, the defendants nevertheless made what Scot says were false statements regarding Invokana – namely, that it is safe and effective for the treatment of diabetes, and that it is safer than other alternative medications.

He says the defendants failed to satisfy their duty to warn physicians and the public about these risks.

His Invokana kidney failure lawsuit raises claims for defective manufacture, defective design, failure to warn, breaches of various warranties, negligence, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and fraud.

He says that as a direct result of the defendants’ conduct, he has suffered “severe and permanent physical and emotional injuries.” He seeks compensation for his economic losses and physical and mental harm, plus punitive damages to deter similar future conduct by the defendants.

The Invokana Kidney Failure Lawsuit is Case No. 3:16-cv-04490 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Trenton Division.