More claims against Actos

When you take medication for a certain disease or disorder, you want to know that the drug manufacturer has operated in good faith. But now, 14 more people have come forward with claims that they developed bladder cancer after taking the diabetes drug Actos.

Bloomberg reports that the plaintiffs have filed the complaints claiming that Takeda and Eli Lilly, the companies that co-launched the treatment, both knew that Actos side effects could cause serious complications, yet continued to sell and market the drug to people with type 2 diabetes.

In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug for commercialization. However, the agency eventually became aware of the potential side effects and issued a warning that Actos may be linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer, especially in patients who used the drug for more than a year.

According to the complaints, Takeda and Eli Lilly should have known that Actos use in humans was associated with or would cause bladder cancer because it had previous knowledge of the risks following pre-clinical studies in animals. The plaintiffs allege that the companies failed to properly conduct complete testing of Actos before filing for approval with the FDA.

They claim that the pharmaceutical giants concealed and failed to completely disclose any knowledge it had that Actos was associated with bladder cancer for more than 10 years. On top of Actos bladder cancer, the drug has also been linked to heart failure and liver damage.

The plaintiffs join a growing number of people who have filed suit against Takeda and Eli Lilly seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.