A man has filed an Invokana adverse side effects lawsuit after he developed acute kidney failure and ketoacidosis after less than two weeks of taking the diabetes drug.

On April 7, 2015, plaintiff Richard T. started taking Invokana to help control his blood sugar. He claims that by April 17, 2015, he had developed Invokana adverse side effects, including diabetic ketoacidosis and acute kidney injury. He was hospitalized several days for treatment.

The defendants include Invokana producers Johnson and Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Mitsubishi Tanabe.

According to the complaint, the “defendants, both individually and in concert with one another, misrepresented that Invokana is a safe and effective treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus, when, in fact, the drug causes serious medical problems which require hospitalization and can lead to life-threatening complications, including, but not limited to, diabetic ketoacidosis and its sequelae, kidney failure and its sequelae, as well as serious cardiovascular problems.”

Makers Allegedly Knew of Invokana Adverse Side Effects

Invokana is in a drug class known as gliflozin, also called sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. These drugs prevent glucose from being reabsorbed into the blood stream, allowing the body to excrete excess glucose through urination. Critics say this action makes the kidneys work harder in a group of people who are already at a higher risk for kidney disease.

Invokana and other SGLT2 inhibitors sometimes block other sodium-glucose co-transporter receptors in the body, including SGLT1 receptors. Of all SGLT2 inhibitors, Invokana is the most apt to block the SGLT1 receptors as well as the targeted SGLT2s. Both SGLT1 and SGLT2 receptors are found throughout the body, including the kidneys, intestines and brain.

Richard claims that Johnson & Johnson, Janssen and Mitsubishi Tanabe should “knew or should have known of the risks of diabetic ketoacidosis and kidney failure based on the data available,” including:

• Animal studies showing increased ketones when given Invokana
• Clinical studies, adverse event reports and case reports demonstrating increased ketones in people given Invokana
• Adverse event reports showing an increased rate of reports of ketoacidosis among people taking Invokana as opposed to other glucose-lowering drugs
• Invokana-induced diabetic ketoacidosis is particularly dangerous because the drug often keeps the blood sugar level below 250 mg/kl, a threshold often used in diagnosing the condition. The delay in treatment can allow ketoacidosis to progress, increasing the risk of injury to the patient.

The Invokana lawsuit says: “SGLT2 inhibitors, and Invokana in particular, also dramatically increase the likelihood of a patient developing kidney failure. Invokana by its very mechanism of action causes dehydration and osmotic diuresis,” which is the increased urination rate as the body loses water and salt.

“A buildup of sugar in the tubes leading from the kidneys leads to acute kidney (or renal) failure,” is how one of the Invokana adverse side effects occurs.

Plaintiffs like Richard allege Invokana’s makers withheld the drug’s true risks from the FDA, the medical community and the public.

The Invokana Adverse Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-02483-BRM-LHG, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Trenton Division.