In Washington State and across the country, people who started taking Takeda Industries type II diabetes drug treatment Actos, either when the drug hit the market or under advisement of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have found a disturbing and possibly deadly side effect; bladder cancer.
Last year the FDA recommended that patients switch from rival diabetes drug Avandia to Actos because of Avandia’s serious causal connection to heart attacks. Though the FDA fell short of banning Avandia, thousands (if not millions) of Avandia patients made the switch.
By adding so many patients to the roles of a single drug, it puts a spot light on side effects as the instances of those side effects increase by the ratio of patients. So, though there only slightly over a hundred Actos bladder cancer side effect lawsuits now, there is expected to be hundreds (maybe thousands) more added as Actos victims come forward.
Thus, the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) is at its beginning stages.
Actos Bladder Cancer Side Effect MDL
An MDL is common in defective drug cases. American citizens and residents who are effected by the dangerous side effects of a drug like Actos bring very similar stories and evidence to the court. Because of this, these cases are consolidated into class action lawsuits that are heard by one judge or panel of judges.
In the case of Actos, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has consolidated all pending federal Actos bladder cancer lawsuits in a MDL, and has assigned the docket to the Honorable Judge Rebecca F. Doherty, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (MDL 2299), pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407. However, not all Actos cases will be heard, only those surrounding bladder cancer.
“Each of the actions alleges claims arising from the use of Actos, a prescription medication approved for use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Plaintiffs allege that individuals who use Actosface an increased risk of developing bladder cancer. Plaintiffs further allege that the defendants concealed their knowledge of this risk and failed to provide adequate warnings to consumers and the health care community,” the Judiciary Panel wrote about their decision. “All actions were filed in July 2011 or later. Accordingly, we find that centralization will eliminate duplicative discovery prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings, and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel and the judiciary.”
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Why class action consolidation?
As you can see at the end of the judiciary statement, the reasoning for consolidation is resources, redundancy, and time. It allows for a shorter trial period
Why Western District of Louisiana?
There are many considerations that go into these decisions, number one being the judge that presides over the hearings and how they have ruled in previous cases of that type. Also, a central location that has the resources to be able to accommodate these types of cases are also brought into consideration.
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Actos and Takeda Industries
Actos’s active ingredient is known generically as pioglitazone. Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda Pharmaceuticals America Inc. introduced the drug in 1999 as one of only a couple of drug treatments for Type II diabetes at the time. Actos is now one of Takeda’s top-selling drugs enjoying global sales last year of $4.8 billion (twice that of its sales in previous years) and accounts for 27% of the company’s revenue, partially due to the recommendations of the FDA.
On September 17, 2010, only weeks after its action against Avandia, the FDA announced it had begun an Actos safety review. This action came after data from a study conducted by Kaiser Permanente suggested that the risk of bladder cancer increases with either the increasing dose and/or duration of Actos use, reaching statistical significance after 24 months.
On June 15, 2011, the FDA mandated that new information about this risk be added to the “Warnings and Precautions” section of the Actos label. The mandate came after the safety review revealed that, when compared to persons never treated with Actos, taking the drug for more than 12 months was associated with a 40% increase in the risk of developing bladder cancer.
That’s why the lawsuits further allege that Takeda promoted Actos as a safe and effective treatment for Type II diabetes, even though they knew or should have known that taking Actos for longer than 12 months increased the risk of bladder cancer. What the trial allows Actos bladder cancer victims to do is legally search for evidence as to whether Takeda knew of the potentially deadly side effect and when.
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Seeking Justice For Actos Cancer
Many times there are hints of these side effects as far back as clinical trials prior to FDA approval that are either held out of the review process or seriously diluted by biased research as was the case the FDA and Senate found with their rivals Avandia, also currently facing MDL.
Many Washington State residents and their families have been touched by the Actos bladder cancer or Actos kidney cancer side effects. These can put patients lives in danger and result in expensive treatments, rising medical bills, time lost from work, loss of quality of life, and in the worst case, wrongful death.
The answer to the question is “Yes, you are eligible.” Pharmaceutical companies care about one thing only, profit. Don’t allow their need to appease themselves and their shareholders overshadow your need for fair compensation and justice. Call Phillips Law Firm for a free consultation.
National Actos Attorney
Phillips Law Firm is a full service law firm that is prepared to help the victims of Actos side effects. If you or a loved one has a heart attack or stroke while taking Actos it is important that you call Phillips Law Firm for a free consultation.
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