As of August 2013, all lawsuits alleging that the type-2 diabetes treatment drugs Byetta, Januvia, Janumet and Victoza caused patients to develop pancreatic cancer were consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL).  Additionally, a master complaint and a short-form complaint have been approved to be used for all future claims brought in the federal court, on behalf of victims across America. The master complaint makes it easier for cancer victims and their families to sue the drug makers and pursue compensation through the diabetes drug MDL.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) officially established this motion under U.S. District Court Judge Anthony J. Battaglia, for all Byetta lawsuits, Januvia lawsuits, Janumet lawsuits, and Victoza lawsuits filed in state and federal courts.  Each of these lawsuits allege that their respective plaintiffs developed pancreatic cancer as direct result of using these drugs.  The coordinated pretrial proceedings will be held in Southern California, which is expected to quicken the litigation process, prevent duplicate discovery, and avoid conflicting pretrial rulings between different judges.

The master complaint of the diabetes drug MDL primarily outlines the allegations each lawsuit has in common, which claims that the defendant companies failed to adequately research their medications before releasing them to market, and failed to provide sufficient warnings on the labels that pancreatic cancer could occur.  With the master complaint, plaintiffs are now able to utilize a short-form complaint to use for future lawsuits, which outline the specific allegations of their claim, while referencing the specific parts they are using from the master complaint.

As of now, there are 150 cases pending before Judge Battaglia, but with the official establishment of the MDL, the number is expected to rise to thousands.

The MDL is formally titled In Re: Incretin-Based Therapies Products Liabilities Litigation, MDL No. 2452, in the United States District Court for the District of California. You can join it by submitting your information for a free legal review now.

Overview of Pancreatic Cancer Concern

Each of the drugs named in this MDL are part of a drug family called incretin memetics. These type of medications are used to treat type-2 diabetes by mimicking the incretin hormones the body produces to release insulin.  Ideally, these medications would be used to help the patient control their diabetic side effects, and help maintain a healthier and longer life.  Possible complications of type-2 diabetes include blindness, low blood sugar, neuropathy and amputation.  The type-2 diabetes medications listed in the MDL are the following:

• Byetta (exenatide): First incretin mimetic to be approved by the FDA in 2005, and is manufactured by Amylin Pharmaceuticals in 2005.
• Januvia (sitagliptin): Second incretin mimetic to be introduced in 2006, and is manufactured by Merck & Co.
• Janumet (sitagliptin): The little brother of Januvia, was introduced in 2007, and is also manufactured by Merck & Co.
• Victoza (liraglutide): The latest incretin mimetic to be introduced, was approved in 2010, and is manufactured by Novo Nordisk.

According to statistics, Januvia and Janumet are among the best-selling medications in the world, earning approximately $4 billion in sales last year.  Victoza sales were about $1.8 billion last year, while Byetta reportedly earned $149 million.  Both the numbers and the sales indicated the drugs’ high popularity, but each of them have been found to allegedly cause a highly troubling side effect in some patients.  As of now, the reason for this occurrence is unknown, but the side effect is apparent according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and numerous scientific studies.

The most current study was published last month by Italian researchers, who studied numerous reviews of adverse drug reactions, of patients who used specifically incretin memetics.  The review consisted of 1,169 reports where at least 90 cases indicated the development of acute or chronic pancreatitis, which can lead to pancreatic cancer.

Januvia, Byetta and Victoza Cancer Litigation Movement

Judge Battaglia has scheduled the first pretrial meeting sometime in February 2014. This meeting will be dedicated to the medical complications surrounding the drugs.  Both the plaintiffs and defendants will explain to the court the different complications of these medications.  As with any MDL, after all pretrial proceedings are complete, several bellwether cases will be selected to represent the rest of the lawsuits in the MDL.