Lipitor, a popular statin drug that is taken by millions of people to lower cholesterol, may be associated with an increased risk of type-2 diabetes. Studies indicate that this risk is highest among post-menopausal women who use the medication.

In 2012, information about diabetes was added to the drug’s label, but plaintiffs in Lipitor lawsuits claim that the medication’s prescribing information still does not provide adequate warnings regarding this risk.

Among the most recent Lipitor diabetes lawsuits filed is that of South Carolina resident and plaintiff Sharon B., who filed the lawsuit in a South Carolina federal court in July.

Sharon claims she was prescribed Lipitor in 2003 and took the drug for about three three years and again in 2010 to 2012. In 2004, Sharon was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes allegedly as a result of taking Lipitor, according to the Lipitor diabetes lawsuit.

Sharon’s Lipitor lawsuit further alleges Pfizer knew, or should have known, that there was a connection between Lipitor and diabetes before it was made publicly available in 1997. Instead, the Lipitor diabetes warning was only added to the product labeling in February 2012, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products requested that a warning be provided.

The Lipitor lawsuit also accuses Pfizer of putting profits before patient safety and further alleges that even after the label change, Lipitor’s label still does not adequately warn patients about the risk of type-2 diabetes.

Lipitor Diabetes Risk

Lipitor is among the best-selling prescription drugs of all time. It was approved for sale in 1996, and is used in conjunction with diet and exercise to lower LDL, or bad, cholesterol. By 2012, Pfizer’s sales of Lipitor exceeded $130 billion.

Statin drugs like Lipitor have been linked to a number of serious complications, including muscle disorders, kidney problems and diabetes. In February 2012, the FDA ordered the drugs’ manufacturers to add warnings to their labels regarding potentially harmful effects on blood sugar levels that have the potential to lead to new-onset type-2 diabetes.

The FDA’s warning followed the publication of a study that indicated post-menopausal women were more likely to develop diabetes if they were taking a statin drug.

Patients treated with Lipitor or any other statin should be aware of the signs and symptoms of type-2 diabetes:

• Increased thirst
• Frequent urination
• Increased hunger
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Sores that are slow to heal, or frequent infections
• Areas of darkened skin

Lipitor MDL

In February 2014, Lipitor diabetes lawsuits were consolidated in a federal multidistrict litigation in U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina. Earlier this year, more than 2,000 claims were pending.

All of the Lipitor lawsuit plaintiffs involved in the multidistrict litigation accuse Pfizer of failing to warn of an increased risk for diabetes. They further allege that the company concealed this Lipitor diabetes risk in order to protect profits from the sale of the blockbuster drug.

Finally, plaintiffs claim that had they been adequately warned of Lipitor’s association with type-2 diabetes they either would have chosen not to use the drug, or been closely monitored for the disorder.

Sharon’s Lipitor lawsuit joins the federal multidistrict litigation In Re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation MDL No. 2:14-mn-02502-RMG in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division.