A South Carolina breast cancer patient recently filed a Taxotere lawsuit against Sanofi Aventis claiming that she suffered from permanent hair loss after chemotherapy due to use of Taxotere.

Plaintiff Jennifer C. was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. She underwent 6 cycles of chemotherapy treatment with Taxotere, which ended in November 2010.

However, after her chemotherapy treatment was over, Jennifer was unable to grow back the hair she lost during treatment.

According to the lawsuit, Sanofi Aventis either knew or should have known that Taxotere was linked to the risk of permanent hair loss after chemotherapy.

However, the lawsuit alleges that the company not only failed to adequately warn about this risk, but even actively concealed this risk, instead promoting the drug as safe and effective.

The lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence, defective design, failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranties, fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment, among several others.

Taxotere Background

Taxotere is a popular breast cancer drug, first introduced to the market after approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1996. Taxotere has been linked with difficulty growing hair back, and even permanent hair loss after chemotherapy.

Taxotere works to fight breast cancer by stopping the further growth of cancer cells, which inhibits the cancer’s ability to quickly spread. However, this may also be the function of Taxotere that prevents hair from growing back.

Permanent Hair Loss Problems

One of the most well-known side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss, but what many patients don’t know is that some drugs are linked with permanent hair loss after chemotherapy.

Taxotere first received approval as a chemotherapy drug from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in 1996. Lawsuits claim that Sanofi Aventis has been aware of studies linking Taxotere to permanent hair loss after chemotherapy since as far back as its approval in 1996.

However, the lawsuits allege that, despite this knowledge, Sanofi Aventis chose to conceal this information from patients and the wider medical community.

Some women who were treated with Taxotere during chemotherapy have reported that they were told their hair would grow back after chemotherapy was finished.

Yet they ended up either having major difficulties growing their hair back, taking an especially long time to grow, or even suffering from permanent hair loss after chemotherapy treatment.

One Taxotere lawsuit states that Sanofi Aventis took advantage of “one of the most vulnerable groups of individuals at the most difficult time in their lives. [Sanofi Aventis] obtained billions of dollars in increased revenues at the expense of unwary cancer victims simply hoping to survive their condition and return to a normal life.”

Taxotere Lawsuits

If you or someone you love has experienced permanent hair loss after chemotherapy, you may be able to gain some kind of compensation through a breast cancer drug lawsuit.

Filing a Taxotere lawsuit against Sanofi Aventis cannot take away the pain and suffering a cancer patient endures, but it can help compensate for the financial expenses incurred by medical bills or even lost wages.

The Taxotere Hair Loss Lawsuit is Case No. 6:16-cv-02376, in the U.S. District Court for the Greenville Division of the District of South Carolina.