Januvia, Byetta, & Victoza Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuits
(Sitagliptin • Exenatide • Liraglutide)
Problem summary
Living with Type 2 diabetes is difficult enough; no diabetes medication should put patients at risk for pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer or any other life-threatening disease. Januvia, Byetta and Victoza are three prescription drugs widely used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes but reports of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer side effects linked to these medications have raised serious concerns about whether these potential risks outweigh the benefits of treatment. Recent research has found that patients with Type 2 diabetes taking incretin mimetic drugs like Januvia, Byetta, Saxenda and Victoza may face a three-times increased risk of pancreatic cancer, and according to the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, 91% of pancreatic cancer patients die within five years of diagnosis, while 74% die within the first year of diagnosis. Diabetes patients diagnosed with pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer while taking Januvia, Byetta or Victoza have filed lawsuits against the makers of the popular diabetes drugs, alleging that they knew or should have known about the risk of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, yet failed to provide adequate warnings about this risk.
About Januvia, Byetta, and Victoza
The prescription Type 2 diabetes medications Januvia, Byetta and Victoza fall into the category of drugs known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, prescribed in combination with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with Type 2 diabetes. These drugs are also known as incretin mimetics, and they work by mimicking the incretin hormones that are typically produced naturally by the body to stimulate the release of insulin in response to a meal. In 2011, research published in the journal Gastroenterology showed that diabetes patients taking DPP-4 drugs were six times more likely to develop pancreatitis than those treated with other medications, and nearly three times more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.
Another study published in 2013 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that incretin mimetic treatment in adults with Type 2 diabetes was “associated with significantly increased odds of acute pancreatitis.” Just one month before the JAMA study was published, the FDA issued a drug safety communication indicating that the agency was evaluating “new findings by a group of academic researchers that suggest an increased risk of pancreatitis […] and pre-cancerous cellular changes called pancreatic duct metaplasia in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a class of drugs called incretin mimetics.”
Januvia (sitagliptin) | Manufactured by Merck: A once-daily prescription pill for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, approved by the FDA in 2006
Byetta (exenatide) | Manufactured by Amylin Pharmaceuticals: An injectable prescription medication for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, approved by the FDA in 2005
Victoza (liraglutide) | Manufactured by Novo Nordisk: A once-daily injection for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, approved by the FDA in 2010
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Side Effects of Januvia, Byetta, and Victoza
A growing body of research has found that diabetes patients taking incretin mimetic drugs are at serious risk of developing pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas produces enzymes that aid in digestion and hormones that help regulate the way the body processes sugar, and while inflammation of this organ may not sound very serious, research has shown that chronic pancreatitis can lead to pancreatic cancer, an aggressive cancer with the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. Other possible side effects of Januvia, Byetta and Victoza include:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Cardiovascular problems
- Severe joint pain
- Kidney problems
- Heart failure
- Thyroid cancer
- Wrongful death
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Januvia, Byetta, and Victoza Resources and Studies
Januvia, Byetta, and Victoza Settlements & Litigation
Safety concerns regarding the potential for incretin mimetic drugs to cause pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer have led to more than a thousand lawsuits being filed against the makers of Januvia, Byetta, Victoza and other popular Type 2 diabetes drugs. In August 2013, more than 900 of these lawsuits were centralized in California federal court for coordinated pretrial proceedings as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL), and in the years since, additional claims have been brought over alleged side effects of Januvia, Byetta and Victoza. Lawsuits against the makers of these diabetes drugs allege that the manufacturing companies failed to adequately test their medications properly before bringing them to market, and then failed to provide proper warnings about the risks of the drugs to patients, the FDA and healthcare providers.
If you or a loved one has been adversely affected by alleged side effects of an incretin mimetic drug like Januvia, Byetta or Victoza, contact a knowledgeable product liability lawyer today to discuss your legal options.
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