Son Files Janumet Lawsuit after Mom Dies from Pancreatic Cancer

Son Files Janumet Lawsuit after Mom Dies from Pancreatic Cancer

By Amanda Antell

Illinois plaintiff Joel Whitley is suing Merck & Co. for the wrongful death of his mother, Marcia Whitley, after she developed pancreatic cancer from their diabetes drug Janumet. The decedent had been prescribed Janumet to help maintain her blood sugar levels due to her type-2 diabetes condition. 

Whitley is suing Merck for being directly responsible for his mother’s death, stating that the company failed to warn him, his mother, and her prescribing physician if the possible side effects of Janumet, and for manufacturing and producing a defective drug. The Janumet lawsuit further states that had his mother known about the risk of pancreatic cancer from Janumet, she would not have taken the drug.

The decedent was first prescribed Janumet in August 2007 and continued to use it until March 2011 when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Whitley’s mother died several months after she was diagnosed with Janumet pancreatic cancer on August 9, 2011. The plaintiff was not aware that Janumet may have been the cause of his mother’s diagnosis until two years after she died. 

Overview of Janumet Pancreatic Cancer Complications

Considered the successor of Merck’s other type-2 diabetes treatment drug, Januvia, Janumet has met a wide range of success but has also received the same nature of criticism Januvia has. On September 25, 2009, the FDA made an announcement to the medical community that Janumet and Januvia may cause acute pancreatitis, adding that Janumet’s label would be updated to include this warning. However, no mention of pancreatic cancer had been mentioned up to that point. 

The same day the FDA made the announcement, Merck issued a press release stating that the company had conducted its own studies on Janumet side effects and had found no such correlation. In October 2009, Merck was issued a letter from the FDA urging them to evaluate Janumet’s chemistry and reaction. In February 2010, scientific studies pertaining to the mechanism to which Janumet and Januvia acted were published regarding the GLP-1 drugs, including Byetta, and the DDP-4 inhibitors, including Januvia and Janumet. These studies inspected their potential association to cause pancreatic cancer.

While it is unknown why inhibiting these particular diabetes drugs have led to an increased likelihood of pancreatic cancer, the FDA is urging the medical community and patients to use alternative treatments for their type-2 diabetes. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive types of cancer there is, with patients only standing a 1.8% of surviving and living no longer than five years after being diagnosed.

Janumet Lawsuits Grow

Currently, there are people across the United States filing product liability lawsuits against Merck & Co. for their inadequate warnings of Januvia and Janumet side effects. The current Janumet warning label indicates no risk of pancreatic cancer, which directly led to the demise of Marcia Whitley and other Janumet users. At the time, the decedent, plaintiff, and their physician had no knowledge of this possible side effect.

Whitley is suing Merck for negligence, false advertising, misrepresenting a product, and concealing information. He and many others accuse Merck of withholding this information in order to increase their profit margin. Janumet is one of Merck’s best-selling drugs, with over $1 billion in sales in 2011.

This case is Joel Whitley vs. Merck & Co., Case No. 13-cv-1842, in the United States District Court for the District of California Southern Division. 

File a Janumet Lawsuit Today

If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of a Janumet pancreatic injury, you have legal options. Please visit the Type-2 Diabetes Drugs Januvia, Byetta, Victoza Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. There, you can submit your claim for a free legal review and if it qualifies for legal action, a seasoned Janumet lawyer will contact you for a free, no-obligation consultation. You will be guided through the litigation process at no out-of-pocket expenses or hidden fees. The Janumet lawyers working this investigation do not get paid until you do. 

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