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Is Actos Safe to Take?

Antidiabetic drugs have helped countless patients keep their diabetes under control. Back in 1999, an antidiabetic drug named Avandia (rosiglitazone) was released on the market by GlaxoSmithKline. It was purported to help treat Type 2 diabetes. After seven years on the market, the sales peaked raking in more than two billion dollars in profits for the pharmaceutical giant. Unfortunately, as time went by it was discovered that the drug's risks far outweighed the benefits as more serious side effects were reported. The drug Avandia was linked to an increased risk in heart disease, stroke and even death. After more awareness developed about the serious dangers associated with Avandia, a new drug was marketed as a safer alternative.

The newly marketed replacement for Avandia was named Actos in the United States and it was grouped into the same class of medication. People suffering from Type 2 diabetes were excited about the idea of having a safer, more reasonable medication to turn to after discovering the serious side effects associated with its predecessor.

Sadly, like Avandia, Actos was released on the market only to receive serious criticism from patients and the medical community alike. Much like Avandia, Actos proved to cause serious, life-threatening side effects after patients took the drug, especially for longer periods of time and at higher doses.

Actos and its Associated Increased Risk of Bladder Cancer

According to an ongoing epidemiological study by the FDA, patients who take Actos for more than one year have an increased risk of bladder cancer. A warning was released just a few short days after France and Germany suspended sales of the antidiabetic drug. Studies revealed that patients who had the longest exposure to the drug and who had been consumed a cumulative dose were at the greatest risk for developing bladder cancer. According to a five-year analysis that included information from more than 193,000 diabetic patients who were treated with Actos for an average of two years it was discovered that:

  • (1) patients who were on the drug for more than one year had a 40% increased risk of developing bladder cancer than patients who never took the drug and
  • (2) patients who were on the drug for more than one year were associated with 27.5 excess cases of bladder cancer per 100,000 people, compared to people who never took Actos.

A study was conducted on August 17, 2011 regarding the side effects associated with taking Actos and the increased risk of bladder cancer. The study claims that 22,512 patients reported side effects when taking Actos and 0.22% of them have bladder cancer. Approximately 43% of patients with bladder cancer report to have taken Actos between two and five years, with the second largest concentration of those afflicted with bladder cancer reported to have taken Actos for just one to six months.

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Oklahoma Defective Actos Compensation Legal Counsel

If you or a loved one has developed bladder cancer after taking Actos, then you should contact an attorney. Nobody should have to suffer serious side effects, or even death from a medication that was meant to help them, not harm them. Large pharmaceutical companies are in the business of making large profits, and unfortunately sometimes these profits can cost innocent people their lives in the process. If you fell ill with bladder cancer, you may have a valid claim in a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturer. If this is the case, you may be able to receive compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income and loss of future wages.

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At the Law Offices of Stipe & Belote, we are a personal injury law firm that is dedicated to helping injured victims receive compensation on behalf of their injuries. Whether you suffered serious side effects after taking Actos, or if your loved one suffered unfairly as a result of taking the medication, we would like to help. We have extensive experience helping clients who have been wrongfully injured from all kinds of dangerous drugs including Avandia and Actos. When you may be intimidated by large pharmaceutical giants with an entire team of attorneys working for them, we are not. Patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, especially when they have been wrongfully injured by a dangerous drug.

We have the knowledge and experience to go up against drug manufacturers, and if we think you have a case, we are more than happy to be your personal advocate. If you have fallen ill with bladder cancer after taking Actos, we urge you to contact our firm as soon as possible! For more information see the FDA Drug Safety Communication: Updated drug labels for pioglitazone-containing medicines and FDA Drug Safety Communication: Update to ongoing safety review of Actos (pioglitazone) and increased risk of bladder cancer. On Actos bladder cancer cases, we will likely be associating with other law firms and cases may be referred to those other firms. Call (888) 842-1374 to schedule your free consultation. 

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