Recently an Iowa woman has filed a pharmaceutical liability lawsuit against Sanofi Aventis claiming the company’s Taxotere cancer drug caused her permanent alopecia.

Plaintiff Leann H. was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2013. About five months later, she underwent a lumpectomy to remove cancer from her breast.

After her lumpectomy she went to her physician to discuss her further treatment options. Leann underwent chemotherapy, including treatment with Sanofi’s Taxotere cancer drug, from January 2014 through May 2014.

She claims that neither before nor after her lumpectomy did her healthcare provider discuss with her any lasting side effects from Taxotere. She alleges her healthcare providers were not aware that permanent alopecia could result from taking Taxotere.

After stopping chemotherapy, Leann says, she suffered from permanent disfiguring baldness from Taxotere.

Chemotherapy drugs work to kill fast-growing cells in the body. But while they do this, they also can have an effect on the cells that produce hair growth.

Those who undergo chemotherapy expect to have temporary hair loss, but Taxotere has been linked with permanent hair loss, also called alopecia.

Permanent hair loss can have a devastating effect on women and can cause great mental anguish as well as economic damages including loss of work or inability to work due to significant psychological damages.

Leann claims in her Taxotere cancer drug lawsuit that the drug manufacturers knew about the long term side effects associated with their product.

She claims that the defendants “engaged in a pattern of deception by overstating the benefits of Taxotere as compared with other alternatives while simultaneously failing to warn of the risk of permanent alopecia.”

Essentially, because the risks of Taxotere weren’t communicated, Leann claims that she and other consumers were exposed to the risk of permanent hair loss without warning. At the same time, she says, Sanofi promoted Taxotere with claims of increased efficacy.

She claims that thousands of patients were denied the opportunity to make an informed decision about the benefits of Taxotere over other comparable products.

Leann says she did not know until after her treatment had stopped that her permanent disfiguring baldness was connected with Taxotere.

She claims that as a direct and proximate result of Sanofi’s negligent and wrongful conduct and the unreasonably dangerous and defective characteristic of the drug, she suffered severe and permanent physical and emotional injuries, including permanent alopecia.

Leann alleges she has suffered economic losses and has endured pain and suffering. The plaintiff notes several causes of action including failure to warn, negligence and fraud.

About Taxotere Cancer Drug

Taxotere (docetaxel) was approved by the FDA in 1996 for chemotherapy. It is not only used to treat breast cancer but can also be used to treat cancers of the head, lung, prostate and neck. It is given in cycles intravenously under a physician’s supervision.

The Taxotere Cancer Drug Lawsuit is Case No. 1:16-cv-00193 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Cedar Rapids Division.