Jury Hears Arguments About the Actos Bladder Cancer Link

In the first of 3,000 Actos lawsuits against Takeda, the attorney for Jack Cooper, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that Takeda had been aware of studies that linked Actos to bladder cancer since 2004, but did not inform the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for 7 years. Michael Miller, Cooper’s attorney, said that the company was motivated to hide this crucial information by the $1.6 billion Takeda makes from Actos sales annually.

“Selling diabetes drugs is big business in America,” Miller said in closing arguments in the trial of Cooper’s suit against Takeda. “There’s a lot of money to be made. But companies are not allowed to downplay the risk. Patient safety is the No. 1 thing.”

Cooper is charging Takeda with failure to warn both patients and doctors of the risk of bladder cancer from taking Actos. His Actos lawsuit was expedited in an October 2012 ruling by Judge Kenneth Freeman because Copper is said to be “gravely ill.”

Cooper started taking Actos in 2007 to treat his diabetes before being diagnosed with bladder cancer in November 2011.

On March 4, the first day of testimony in the Actos lawsuit trial, clinical pharmacologist Howard Greenberg a cited e-mails sent out in 2005 by Takeda executives discussing whether the pharmaceutical company would be asked by U.S. and European officials to include in a warning label the potential risk of bladder cancer for users of Actos. Greenberg claimed that Takeda officials were more concerned with protecting Actos over its customers.

In an e-mail written in August 2005, Takeda executive Kiyoshi Kitazawa wrote, “Actos is the most important product for Takeda and therefore we need to manage this issue very carefully and successfully not to cause any damage for this product globally.”

There have been studies conducted in both the United States and France that have shown an increase risk of bladder cancer in patients taking high doses of Actos or in patients that have taken the drug for two to five years.

In 2011, Actos was removed from the market in Germany and France. It is still sold in the United States with a clear warning of the risks associated with taking the medication.

The case is Cooper v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals America Inc., CGC-12-518535, California Superior Court. The plaintiff is being represented by Michael Miller of the Miller Firm LLC.

If you or someone you know has had a similar experience to Mr. Cooper while taking Actos to treat your diabetes, legal options are available to you. Learn more and get a free legal consultation regarding a claim’s eligibility at the Actos Bladder Cancer Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Experienced legal professionals have access to medical experts to assess whether or not this diabetes drug played a role in your bladder cancer or other serious side effects, so act now.