Sanofi Aventis has been facing a growing number of claims alleging patients developed permanent alopecia soon after undergoing Taxotere chemotherapy for breast cancer.

These claims eventually formed a multidistrict litigation (MDL), each alleging their respective plaintiffs or their loved ones had developed permanent alopecia as a result of undergoing Taxotere chemotherapy for breast cancer.

One of the most recent Taxotere lawsuits alleging permanent alopecia was filed by a couple from Missouri, alleging the hair loss was directly caused by the chemotherapy for breast cancer treatments.

Plaintiff couple Johna L. and Rickie L. conjointly filed this Taxotere lawsuit, alleging Sanofi Aventis knew their chemotherapy drug could cause permanent hair loss, but failed to include it on the product’s label until being ordered to by the FDA.

Taxotere Claim

Similar to other women who have had undergo chemotherapy for breast cancer, Johna was prescribed Taxotere soon after her diagnosis. At the time, she was assured by the drug’s warning label that her hair would “generally grow back” at some point after the chemotherapy regimen was over.

With this in mind, Johna says she underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer from Jan. 13, 2014, until March 17, 2014. As is usually the case with chemotherapy, she says she sustained hair loss. According to her Taxotere lawsuit, Johna lost her eyebrows, eyelashes, and developed several bald spots throughout her scalp.

Johna says she has since been unable to regrow her hair, which she expected would return at some point after her Taxotere chemotherapy treatment was over. Johna has since filed legal action against Sanofi Aventis, after discovering other women had allegedly developed permanent alopecia from Taxotere chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Overview of Taxotere Chemotherapy Hair Loss Allegations

Like other chemotherapy medications, Taxotere works by attacking rapidly reproducing cells in the body and prevents them from taking over. However, most chemotherapy drugs cannot target specific cancer cells and attack all rapidly reproducing cell groups in the body. This often means that hair follicles are the first to be attacked, which causes hair loss.

While hair loss is a fairly common side effect from chemotherapy, it is rare for patients to develop permanent alopecia. Taxotere has been linked to permanent alopecia since at least 2006, when an oncologist and his team found that 6.3% of his breast cancer patients grew back less than 50% of their hair when prescribed Taxotere chemotherapy for breast cancer.

The FDA eventually ordered Sanofi Aventis to add permanent alopecia to Taxotere’s warning label in December 2015, after patient cases had been reported. It has been alleged that Sanofi Aventis knew about the problem beforehand, based on the fact that European customers received the warning much earlier.

At all times relevant, Johna and Rickie say they had relied on the product information and marketing statements provided by the company and had no reason to believe they were at risk for permanent injuries.

Johna states she would not have agreed to use Taxotere, if she had known she could develop permanent alopecia after chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Johna’s Taxotere lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2740, where it will stand alongside other claims alleging permanent alopecia from Taxotere chemotherapy for breast cancer. This Taxotere Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-10825-JTM-MBN, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Louisiana.