Sanofi Aventis is facing a new Taxotere hair loss lawsuit from a North Carolina woman alleging the drug caused her to develop permanent alopecia.

This condition is described as complete and permanent hair loss, leaving no chance for the woman’s hair to regrow after undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Plaintiff Kelly F. is filing this Taxotere permanent alopecia lawsuit against the manufacturing company for allegedly failing to warn her against the possibility of permanent alopecia.

Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer on Oct. 24, 2012, and discussed different treatment options with her oncologist.

She was prescribed Taxotere as part of her chemotherapy treatment which allegedly caused her to develop permanent alopecia.

Kelly underwent six cycles of chemotherapy using this drug, during which time she lost her hair. It was not until May 2016 that Kelly learned of the alleged link between Taxotere and permanent alopecia.

Overview of Taxotere Permanent Alopecia Allegations

Taxotere was approved by the FDA in 1996 to be used as a treatment drug for breast cancer.

Since its approval, it has been approved to treat a number of other cancers and has helped millions of patients overcome the devastating disease.

However, female patients undergoing breast cancer treatment have allegedly developed permanent alopecia or hair loss soon after starting Taxotere treatment.

Like other cancer treatment drugs Taxotere works by targeting rapidly growing cells, with cancer cells being one of the first target cells that are destroyed.

However hair follicles are another type of rapidly reproducing cells in the body, and is often one of the first cells attacked by chemotherapy drugs.

While hair loss normally occurs during cancer treatment, permanent alopecia is considered more unusual. The FDA warned against Taxotere permanent alopecia in December 2015 and required Sanofi Aventis to update the drug’s warning label.

It has been alleged that the company knew of the risk before the agency’s warning, but had concealed this information for the United States market. Many have alleged that Sanofi Aventis did not adequately describe Taxotere side effects in order to protect the drug’s market value.

At no point during her chemotherapy treatment did Sanofi Aventis warn Kelly against permanent hair loss, nor did the company disclose the complication to her oncologist, her lawsuit states.

Additionally, Kelly states had only used Taxotere under a strict prescription schedule, which had only been used for designated approved purposes and that she never would have used Taxotere if she had known the possibility of permanent alopecia.

The Taxotere Permanent Alopecia Lawsuit is Case No. 1:16-cv-1173, in the U.S. District Court of Middle North Carolina.