Onglyza has gained popularity as one of a new generation of oral diabetes medications, but the drug may be associated with a wide variety of dangerous side effects that patients should be aware of.

Onglyza (saxagliptin) was manufactured by AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb and approved as a diabetes medication in 2009.

The drug, like other incretin mimetic medications, is intended to treat type 2 diabetes specifically. Incretin mimetics work to stimulate the release of insulin, which helps to regulate a patient’s blood sugar level.

Diabetes Medications Side Effects

Onglyza may have increased so rapidly in popularity because it does not induce weight gain, unlike many other diabetes medications. However, the extremely dangerous side effects that have been associated with Onglyza have the potential to do a great deal more damage than weight gain.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has responded to an increasing number of adverse event reports regarding new diabetes medications like Onglyza, requiring that the drug’s manufacturers update label warnings to include a number of dangerous side effects associated with the drug.

The dangerous and potentially fatal side effects of diabetes medications like Onglyza include:

• Pancreatic Cancer. Pancreatic cancer may be the most dangerous of Onglyza side effects. This is a difficult disease to detect, so it is often missed until the later and more dangerous stages of cancer. At this point, it is not only hard to treat, but has a higher fatality rate as well.
• Thyroid Cancer. Thyroid cancer is slow-growing, often taking many years to develop, and also is generally discovered in the later and more dangerous stages.
• Heart Failure. Heart failure is a serious and life-threatening condition in which the heart cannot adequately pump blood throughout the body. Heart failure is often caused by high blood pressure or coronary artery disease, which gradually weakens the heart. Even patients who survive heart failure are often permanently damaged. They are typically forced to make significant changes to how they go about their daily lives, altering their diet, salt intake, exercise patterns, and stress management.
• Heart Attack. A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is essentially the blockage of blood flow and eventually death of heart tissue.

Onglyza Lawsuits

A growing number of diabetes patients are coming forward, alleging that diabetes medications like Onglyza directly led to major side effects. Some patients choose to file lawsuits over Onglyza side effects against the manufacturers, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Meyers Squibb, for failing to adequately warn and inform the medical community and consumers of potential heightened risk factors of their drug.

Companies add warning labels when there is enough evidence to suggest a connection and cause concern. Onglyza lawsuits allege that the drug’s manufacturers should have included a warning for pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, heart failure, and heart attack.

If you or someone you know has suffered from serious side effects after using Onglyza or other diabetes medications, you may be able to take legal action. Filing an Onglyza lawsuit may not fix the damage, but it can help to alleviate the physical, emotional, and financial losses felt as a result of using Onglyza.