Actos and Bladder Cancer

Levin Papantonio has been actively pursuing cases where diabetic patients using the drug Actos have been subsequently diagnosed with bladder cancer.  Actos (drug name Pioglitazone) is used to treat Type II diabetes and is sold in variations such as Actoplus MET, Actoplus MET XR, and Duetact. Takeda Pharmaceuticals, a Japanese-based multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical company with ties to Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly & Co., introduced the drug in 1999. 

Before Actos was released onto the market, Actos side effects in rodent studies indicated a higher incidence of bladder tumors in male rats exposed to Actos.  After Actos was released, human studies confirmed an increased risk of bladder cancer in patients taking Actos for one year or more.  The Actos label contained no warning of bladder cancer risk until recent FDA reconsideration required such a warning.

Safer alternative treatments for diabetes already exist but doctors and patients were lured away from these alternatives by sophisticated marketing efforts and inaccurate safety information.

Levin Papantonio, led by attorneys Troy Rafferty and Robert Price, has already started filing cases against Takeda and other entities responsible for producing this drug, and expects to file many more cases in the upcoming months.   Just recently, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated the federal claims in the Western District of Louisiana under the Hon. Judge Rebecca Doherty. Levin Papantonio partner Troy Rafferty was appointed to the Plaintiff Steering Committee and will use his extensive pharmaceutical litigation experience to help guide and manage the litigation.

Contact Robert Price or Troy Rafferty for details and assistance. rprice@levinlaw.com; trafferty@levinlaw.com

Learn more about the Actos lawsuits.