DrugRisk Update: New Report Stirs Disagreement on Safety of Januvia
New York, NY (PRWEB) August 01, 2013 -- The diabetes drug safety center at DrugRisk.com is advising patients taking the medications Januvia or Janumet of new information on the site. Despite recent warnings about a possible link to pancreatic cancer, the FDA has advised that diabetes drugs like Januvua are safe*.
DrugRisk provides patients taking popular prescription drugs with the latest warnings, recalls, studies and legal news in an effort to improve safety. Visitors can see if others are experiencing similar side effects and decide if they need legal advice.
Januvia and Janumet are ingestible diabetes medications prescribed to those with type-2 diabetes to lower blood sugar levels. In recent years, they have been the best-selling drugs for Merck, bringing in over $4 billion last year**.
However, the resource center contains studies linking Januvia and Janumet to cancer.
A 2011 study from UCLA linked Januvia with increased rates of pancreatic cancer and thyroid cancer***. The American Medical Association recently advised diabetes drugs like these can double the risk of pancreatitis, a major risk factor for pancreatic cancer****. Also, the British Medical Journal has reported this class of diabetes drugs may be more dangerous than expected*****.
Now, however, DrugRisk has learned that the FDA advised that, for now, there is no evidence to show diabetes drugs like Januvia are associated with higher cancer rates*.
Due to the number of patients expected to file a Januvia lawsuit alleging cancer, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is considering a consolidation of cases to a central court. (In Re: Incretins Products Liability, Sales and Marketing Litigation, MDL 2452, United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation).
Anyone affected by cancer after taking Januvia or Janumet is encouraged to speak with a lawyer about their legal options. However, due to the specialized nature of federal drug injury cases, DrugRisk only recommends lawyers who have already handled Januvia lawsuits.
For more information on the research, side effects and litigation news related to Januvia and other drugs, or to speak with a lawyer, visit http://www.DrugRisk.com.
*Pharmalive 7/30/13; pharmalive.com/fda-decides-no-risk-of-pancreatic-cancer-with-diabetes-drugs
**Bloomberg, 2/25/13; bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/merck-bristol-diabetes-drugs-linked-to-pancreatitis-risk.html
***Gastroenterology, July 2011; ctsi.ucla.edu/education/files/publicview/training/docs/FDA-analysis.pdf
****JAMA Internal Medicine, 2/25/13; archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1656537
*****MedPage Today, 6/12/13; medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Diabetes/39803
Patient Advocate, DrugRisk, http://www.DrugRisk.com, 888-415-1859, [email protected]
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