Illinois Man Files Lawsuit Over Actos Bladder Cancer

Madison County, ILAn Illinois man has claimed that he developed bladder cancer as a result of Actos side effects.

According to the Madison Record, Robert Bettoff alleges that he began taking Actos, which is manufactured by defendants Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Company, in 2007 after receiving a prescription for the medication for his type 2 diabetes.

At the time when Bettoff received the prescription, he was unaware of the alleged risks concerning bladder cancer that were associated with taking the drug. He claims that he had no knowledge that individuals who took the medication for more than 12 months faced an increased risk of developing the disease, reported the news source.

The news source noted that the lawsuit alleges Takeda and Eli Lilly were aware of the associated risks of Actos as early as 2005, but failed to warn consumers about it. The complaint claims there was a two-year carcinogenic study that was conducted on male and females rats that revealed the animals tended to develop tumors.

Bettoff and his attorneys alleged further that the company failed to warn consumers of the potential risks of the drug due to the significant profits that were being made.

"Actos is one of Takeda's top-selling drugs," the lawsuit states. "Upon information and belief, in the last year, the medication had global sales of $4.8 billion and accounted for approximately 27 percent of Takeda's revenue."

Bettoff was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2008, and he stopped taking the medication in 2011 after he found out that the disease may have been caused by Actos, according to the lawsuit.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has noted the increased risks for bladder cancer and provided warnings on Actos packaging in an effort to warn consumers, according to the agency's website.

A warning that was issued by the FDA came several months after Actos pioglitazone was banned in France due to the potential for increasing an individual's chance of developing bladder cancer. The organization also reviewed partial findings from a 10-year study that was undertaken by the manufacturer of the drug, according to an FDA release.

"Compared to never being exposed to pioglitazone, a duration of pioglitazone therapy longer than 12 months was associated with a 40% increase in risk," the organization said in the release.