Byetta Lawsuit Says the Diabetes Drug Caused Thyroid Cancer

Plaintiff Wanda Lucas claims in the Byetta lawsuit that she began taking the diabetes drug in 2007 and was diagnosed with a tumor in her glands in August 2010. Lucas was also at risk for other Byetta side effects, including the much more serious pancreatic cancer – which is associated with not just Byetta, but also Januvia and Janumet. While the diabetes drugs have different mechanisms of actions, studies cited in the Byetta lawsuit note that they can all wreak havoc on both the pancreas and thyroid glands.

The plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer notes that studies and articles published prior to Lucas’s Byetta thyroid cancer diagnosis indicated the possibility of tumors forming in the thyroid and pancreas of people who used Byetta. Had she known about these potential Byetta side effects, Lucas alleges that she would not have taken any medication in the class of drugs. Pancreatic cancer has just a 1.8 percent survival rate within five years of diagnosis. Her own condition – thyroid cancer — is much less likely to be fatal, but still requires significant treatment and can lead to physical damage.

A 2010 study noted that there “is preliminary evidence to suggest the potential risks of asymptomatic chronic pancreatitis and, with time, pancreatic cancer.” Later work indicated that pancreatitis occurred 10 times more often for Byetta users, and the risk for Januvia pancreatic cancer was three times as likely, according to the lawsuit. None of the drug makers who sell these drugs have listed the links to cancer in spite of mounting scientific evidence regarding damage and inflammation of the pancreas and thyroid glands.

As a result, counts against Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Company in the Byetta lawsuit include strict liability, negligence, breaches of express and implied warranty and fraudulent concealment.

The Byetta Thyroid Cancer Lawsuit is Wanda Lucas v. Amylin Pharmaceuticals LLC, et al., Case No. 13-cv-1798, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

Men and women are finding out that their cancer diagnoses may have been a result of one of a number of type-2 diabetes medications. Legal options may be available for those who visit the Type 2 Diabetes Drugs Januvia, Byetta Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Fill out the short form there for a free consultation to determine your eligibility. A Byetta personal injury lawyer will help advise you on what next steps you can take.