Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals are facing a new Onglyza heart failure lawsuit, alleging the pharmaceutical companies failed to warn him against the potential side effects of their medication.

This Onlgyza heart failure lawsuit was filed by a woman from Kentucky who says she was prescribed the medication to treat her type-2 diabetes and had suffered a potentially fatal heart failure event instead.

Plaintiff Wilma S. opted to file an Onglyza heart failure lawsuit after discovering that other patients had suffered similar complications.

Onglyza (saxagliptin) is part of the incretin mimetic drug family and works by signaling the pancreas to make more insulin. By doing this, the body’s blood sugar levels remain balanced which prevents the blood from becoming too acidic. If the blood becomes too acidic, the patient could potentially develop diabetic ketoacidosis and kidney failure.

In addition to these fatal conditions, Onglyza is also supposed to mitigate other diabetic symptoms that interfere with the patient’s everyday life. With these benefits in mind, Wilma claims, she agreed to start Onglyza treatment and had taken the medication according to prescription instructions and physician’s advice.

According to the Onglyza heart failure lawsuit, Wilma was on Kombiglyze XR (saxagliptin and metformin hydrochloride) from Dec. 28, 2011 through July 2018 and had reportedly developed potentially fatal injuries. While a different medication from Onglyza, both medications contain the same core ingredient, saxagliptin.

At some point during the course of the prescription, Wilma says she developed congestive heart failure and has since had to contend with the condition.

Wilma opted to file this heart failure lawsuit after discovering the FDA Advisory Board had urged Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca to add heart failure to Onglyza’s warning label in April 2015.

Overview of Onglyza Heart Failure

Heart failure occurs when cardiac muscle is too weak to pump blood through the body, which can be potentially fatal if not treated. Conditions like high blood pressure or coronary artery disease may gradually weaken the heart and increase the chances of occurrence. However, it has been alleged that adverse saxagliptin reactions may also cause heart failure.

According the SAVOR study published in the 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that saxagliptin patients faced a slightly higher chance of being hospitalized for heart failure.

The study consisted of 16,492 patients and was funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca after the companies received a number of injury reports from patients indicating heart failure hospitalizations. While the results were not considered statistically significant, it spurred the medical community to further investigate the alleged correlation.

It is important to note that incretin mimetics are relatively new drugs that were initially popular upon release, but were the subject of intense scrutiny after fellow type-2 diabetes drug, Avandia was recalled. This medication was recalled for allegedly increasing the risk of cardiac death in patients which put the medical community on high alert for potential cardiac risk in other type-2 diabetes drugs.

Even though heart failure is a potentially fatal complication, Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca allegedly failed to warn the general public that saxagliptin could cause this. Wilma states she would not have taken Onglyza if she had known the risk.

This Onglyza Heart Failure Lawsuit is Case No. 7:18-cv-00090-KKC, in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky, Pikeville Division.