Actos Bladder Cancer Class Action Lawsuit Filed in MDL
Yet another lawsuit has been brought against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, accusing the company of failing to warn about the risk of bladder cancer from Actos.
A new Actos class action lawsuit has been filed against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, over allegations that the drug maker withheld information about the risk of bladder cancer allegedly linked to Actos treatment. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty issued an order on September 16, indicating that the class action brought by the Painters & Allied Trades District Council 82 Health Care Fund and other plaintiffs will remain a separate case, instead of being consolidated with the more than 3,500 bladder cancer lawsuits filed on behalf of former Actos users. If you believe you have been adversely affected by bladder cancer side effects of Actos, our consumer advocates at the Leading Justice can help put you in touch with a reputable attorney who has experience handling Actos bladder cancer claims.
Takeda Accused of Failure to Warn
According to allegations raised in the Actos class action lawsuit, Takeda Pharmaceuticals misrepresented the risks of bladder cancer from Actos, claims that are similar to those brought on behalf of thousands of former Actos users diagnosed with bladder cancer in recent years. Earlier this year, a federal judge awarded $9 billion in damages in the first Actos bladder cancer trial held in the multidistrict litigation (MDL), in order to help determine how juries across the country may react to certain testimony and evidence that is likely to be repeated in other cases. The verdict included a record punitive damage award against Takeda, designed to punish the drug company for failing to provide consumers and the medical community with adequate warnings about the risk of Actos bladder cancer.
Actos Linked to Increased Risk of Bladder Cancer
Actos is a popular prescription medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1999 for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, due to its ability to increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Since its entered the market in the United States, Actos has become one of the most widely used diabetes medications available. However, serious concerns have been raised about the safety of Actos, in the midst of mounting research potentially linking the diabetes drug to an increased risk of bladder cancer side effects in patients. In September 2010, the FDA announced that it was investigating the alleged link between Actos and bladder cancer, based on preliminary data from an ongoing 10-year study, which suggested that Actos users may have an increased risk of developing the potentially deadly cancer after one year of use.
Actos Lawsuits Filed Over Bladder Cancer Complications
New warnings about the risk of bladder cancer were added by the FDA to the Actos label in 2011, but new information suggests that Takeda Pharmaceuticals considered adding warnings as early as 2003, which means the drug maker may have first become aware of the potential risk of Actos bladder cancer more than a decade ago. As the first Actos bladder cancer lawsuits begin to reach the trial stage, new product liability lawsuits continue to be filed in state and federal courts across the country. According to to the latest update from the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, more than 3,700 Actos bladder cancer lawsuits are already pending before Judge Doherty, with hundreds of other Actos cases pending in various state courts.