Uloric is a popular medication option for treating gout, but the FDA has warned about a potentially dangerous link between Uloric and heart disease risk. If you or someone you love takes or has taken Uloric and has suffered from cardiovascular side effects, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation.

Background of Uloric Gout Medication

Gout is a form of arthritis that includes symptoms like swelling, redness, and joint pain. Gout is associated with increased levels of uric acid.

Uloric is widely used gout drug manufactured by Takeda, a pharmaceutical company with a U.S. subsidiary based in the Chicago area. Uloric is intended to treat gout by reducing the amount of uric acid in a gout patient’s body.

Uloric is a relatively new drug, first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just in 2009. Uloric is also sold under its generic name, febuxostat. In just the few years since its introduction to the market, Uloric has risen in popularity to become one of the leading gout medications.

The FDA has issued a warning about the connection between Uloric and heart disease risk.

Side Effects of Uloric

Of course, any medication will come with the risk of certain mild or rare side effects, which should be included on the drug’s warning label and in advertising. However, a growing number of gout patients are coming forward with allegations that they have suffered because of the connection between Uloric and heart disease, but were not given adequate warning about this risk.

Recent studies, including a clinical safety trial from Takeda, have found that side effects of Uloric may include substantial risk of Uloric heart-related death, as well as non-fatal heart problems.

The FDA required that Takeda conduct a clinical safety trial for the drug. According to the study, which involved more than 6,000 gout patients, Uloric patients faced a higher risk of heart-related death when compared with the gout drug allopurinol.

Takeda was hit with a whistleblower lawsuit in 2012 by a former safety consultant for the company, who claimed that Takeda had hidden essential information about Uloric and major side effects from the federal government—including fatal complications, especially when combined with the use of other drugs. The whistleblower lawsuit alleged that the company changed and falsified documents it sent to the FDA to lessen the severity of Uloric’s side effects.

Filing an Uloric Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has suffered from Uloric cardiovascular problems or other side effects, you may be able to file a lawsuit. While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by Uloric and heart disease, or bring a loved one back to life, litigation may be able to help alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.