Actos and Bladder Cancer

Actos is a treatment for Type 2 diabetes that is in a class of drugs called Thiazolidinediones.  Actos lowers the amount of sugar released by the liver and makes fat cells more sensitive to the effects of insulin.

Avandia, Actos’s sister drug in this same class, became a blockbuster drug before serious heart problems were found to be a side effect of the drug.  After being linked to more than 100,000 heart attacks, and being found to double the risk of heart failure after one year of treatment, the FDA allows only severely restricted use of Avandia.   Avandia’s manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, has faced serious liability over its one time blockbuster drug.

Initially Actos was thought to be a safe alternative to Avandia, and between January 2010 and October 2010, more than 2.3 million patients filled a prescription for Actos.  But it wasn’t long before it too was linked to serious side effects.  In the case of Actos, the complication is bladder cancer.

Symptoms of bladder cancer may include:

• Red urine or blood in the urine
• Intense urgency to urinate
• Pain while urinating

Actos is manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and was marketed in the United States by Eli Lilly.  Lawsuits against both pharmaceutical giants allege that the companies failed to warn patients about the risks associated with Actos use.  Takeda even attempted to fund studies to get FDA approval for Actos to be used in the prediabetic population to prevent diabetes.  With 79 million prediabetic people living in the United States in 2010, this would have been a huge market for the drug company.  Fortunately, the dangers of Actos began coming to light.

If you or a loved one have been injured while taking Actos, we invite you to browse through the information provided on this site.  We are available any time of day to answer any questions you may have about Actos and its side effects, and discuss whether you are an ideal candidate for the ongoing litigation.