First Actos Bladder Cancer Trial Begins in Los Angeles

The first of nearly 3,000 lawsuits over the diabetes drug Actos has gone to trial, with the attorney for a 78-year-old man who now has bladder cancer claiming that the manufacturer of the blockbuster drug, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, failed to warn doctors of the cancer risk associated with the drug. In opening statements at a Los…

A new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) is reporting that use of the drug pioglitazone – better known by its brand name, Actos — is associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. Although the drug currently carries a warning about increased risks of bladder cancer, this new study suggests that the…

A medical reviewer who worked for the manufacturer of the drug Actos, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that the drug company knowingly hid adverse events associated with the embattled diabetes drug. The lawsuit alleges that Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., concealed Actos heart failure risks. The suit goes on to contend that as a…

Actos is a diabetes medication that is the subject of hundreds, if not thousands, of lawsuits. The problem is that when Actos, also known as pioglitazone, is used for a prolonged time period it is found to increase the risk of developing bladder cancer. In France, the sales of Actos have been suspended and sales…

Last month, the outstanding Actos lawsuits pending in federal courts around the country were consolidated before Judge Rebecca F. Doherty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. That decision was made by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), a federal panel that decides how to handle the massive number of…

Public Citizen, in its Worst Pills, Best Pills publication, reports that on August 4, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revised the warning on the type 2 diabetes drug, Actos, to include a warning about an increased risk of Actos bladder cancer. Actos, made by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, is also known as pioglitazone. It…