August 3, 2012 — A class action lawsuit has been filed in Quebec, Canada, on behalf of people who were injured by Actos (pioglitazone hydrochloride), a Type-2 diabetes drug that has been linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer. Actos was first approved in Canada in 2000. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that several studies have linked Actos to bladder cancer. French and German health authorities have already suspended sales of Actos in response to those studies.
The FDA has already updated the label on the label for Actos to warn that using the drug at high doses for at least one year could increase the risk of bladder cancer by 40%. One of the most recent studies to confirm this was published in July 2012, and it linked Actos to a 22% increased risk of bladder cancer.
According to the FDA,
“The risk of bladder cancer increased with increasing dose and duration of pioglitazone use. Compared to never being exposed to pioglitazone, a duration of pioglitazone therapy longer than 12 months was associated with a 40% increase in risk (of bladder cancer).”
Health Canada issued a public communication in April 2012 to warn Canadians about the risk of bladder cancer.
The Actos class action lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Montreal, and it accuses the pharmaceutical company Takeda of failing to warn consumers about the possible risk of bladder cancer, and also failing to warn consumers about the risk.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Jimmy Whyte, began using Actos in 2008 to treat Type-2 diabetes, and was diagnosed with bladder cancer earlier this year.
In the United States, nationwide drug litigation is usually consolidated into the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) instead of a class action. In an MDL, lawsuits remain independent, unlike a class action. Nearly 800 Actos lawsuits have already been filed in the MDL, before Judge Rebecca Doherty in the Western District of Louisiana. The first trial is scheduled for November 2014 and the second trial is scheduled for January 2015.
Do I have an Actos Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Actos induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by Actos, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Actos Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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