Sanofi faces a new lawsuit regarding their Taxotere chemotherapy agent from a cancer patient alleging that she experienced no hair regrowth after chemo treatment with the drug.

Plaintiff Karen K. recently filed a lawsuit against Sanofi-Aventis companies, alleging that she had no hair regrowth after chemo treatment with Taxotere.

As part of her chemotherapy treatment from February 2015 to April 2015, Karen was administered docetaxel, the generic form of Taxotere. During her treatment, Karen lost hair on her head and body, as is common in chemotherapy patients. However, she says her experience deviated from common chemotherapy patients when her hair did not grow back after her treatment ended.

“I experienced hair loss on my head and body after being administered Taxotere and my hair has not grown back,” Karen wrote in her Taxotere lawsuit.

Taxotere (docetaxel) is a chemotherapy agent commonly used in the treatment of breast cancer. Taxotere is part of a family of drugs called taxanes, which are derived from yew trees. These chemotherapy agents work to prevent the spread of cancer by over-stabilizing cancer cells’ structure which prevents reproduction.

Chemotherapy agents like Taxotere can often cause hair loss during treatment. This occurs because chemotherapy agents target cancer cells based on their rate of division. Although this is effective at targeting cancer cells, the mechanism can also target hair follicles which are some of the fastest reproducing healthy cells in the human body. Most of the time, hair loss during chemotherapy treatment is temporary and hair growth will resume after treatment.

Karen argues that the hair loss associated with Taxotere can be permanent, with no hair regrowth after chemo treatment. Karen and other patients were allegedly not warned of this side effect, leaving cancer survivors like Karen surprised and devastated when their hair does not grow back.

According to the Taxotere lawsuit, the lack of hair regrowth after chemo treatment can be detrimental for cancer survivors’ sense of self. Baldness is universally associated with cancer treatment and individuals who don’t experience hair regrowth after chemo treatment allegedly carry that stigma with them. Additionally, in a world where a woman’s hair is a sign of beauty, the lack of hair can be damaging to a woman’s self esteem and mental health.

“As a result of this undisclosed side effect, Plaintiffs have struggled to return to normalcy, even after surviving cancer because an integral element of their identities, their hair, never returned,” the Taxotere lawsuit claims. “Plaintiffs are stigmatized with the universal cancer signifier—baldness—long after they underwent cancer treatment, and their hair loss acts as a permanent reminder that they are cancer victims.”

Karen accuses the defendants of strict products liability – failure to warn, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and fraud and deceit. The Taxotere lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, general damages, special damages, loss of earnings, medical expenses, emotional and mental distress, punitive damages, restitution, disgorgement, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Taxotere Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-07666-JTM-MBN and is part of the Taxotere MDL, In re: Taxotere (docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 2:16-md-02740-KDE-MBN, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.