Januvia Lawsuit News: Federal Lawsuits Involving Januvia and Pancreatic Cancer Preparing to Move Forward, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports
New York, New York (PRWEB) October 14, 2013 -- Januvia lawsuits ( http://www.januvialawsuithelp.com/), as well as product liability claims involving other incretin mimetic drugs, are preparing to move forward in a multidistrict litigation established in U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. According to court documents, attorneys for plaintiffs submitted a Joint Status Report to the Court on October 7th, which, among other things, proposes a leadership structure for the proceeding. The Initial Conference in the Januvia litigation will be held on October 17th. (In Re: Incretins Products Liability, Sales and Marketing Litigation, MDL 2452)
“Our Firm has received a number of Januvia lawsuit inquiries from patients who developed pancreatic cancer while taking this Type 2 diabetes drug. We are pleased to see this litigation moving forward,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm’s Januvia lawyers are offering free legal evaluations to victims of pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis and thyroid cancer that may be associated with the use of Januvia.
Januvia and Pancreatic Cancer Litigation
Court documents indicate that at least 60 lawsuits involving Januvia and other incretin mimetic drugs are currently pending in the Southern District of California. All of the Januvia lawsuits involve similar allegations that the manufacturers of the medication failed to provide patients and doctors with adequate warnings about a potential association between Januvia and pancreatic cancer.
Incretin mimetics are a class of Type 2 diabetes drugs that mimic the action of incretin hormones in the digestive tract to stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin. However, in recent years, a growing body of evidence has found that these drugs may have harmful effects on the pancreas. In 2009, for example, the manufacturer of Januvia was ordered to add new warnings to the Januvia label about a possible association with pancreatitis, after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) became aware of 88 cases of Januvia patients developing acute pancreatitis.*
In 2011, a Gastroenterology study reported that Januvia appeared to increase the risk of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, while two cases of thyroid cancer were also reported in the patients who took Januvia.**
This past March, the FDA announced a new review of the entire incretin mimetics class after a small study indicated that the drugs could cause dangerous changes in the cells of the pancreas. While the FDA recently announced it was unable to confirm this risk, the agency’s review of the drugs is ongoing.***
In April, the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP) published an analysis of the FDA adverse event database which revealed that during the 12 month period ending in June 2012, the agency had received reports of 177 possible cases of pancreatitis, 18 cases of pancreatic cancer, and a single case of thyroid cancer in Januvia patients. According to the ISMP, the analysis revealed that, as a class, incretin mimetics were 25 times more likely to be linked to pancreatic cancer compared to other diabetes drugs.****
Most recently, a British Medical Journal study published in June uncovered previously undisclosed data that indicated the manufacturers of incretin mimetics may have downplayed the drugs’ potential to harm the pancreas.*****
Januvia patients who developed pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis or thyroid cancer allegedly associated with their use of this Type 2 diabetes drug may be entitled to compensation for their injury-related damages. Click Here to contact a Januvia lawyer at Bernstein Liebhard LLP. For a free case review, please call 800-511-5092.
*fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/DrugSafetyInformationforHeathcareProfessionals/ucm183764.htm, FDA , September 2009
**http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085%2811%2900172-7/abstract, Gastroenterology, February 21, 2011
**ismp.org/QuarterWatch/pdfs/2012Q3.pdf, ISMP, April 2013
***bmj.com/open-data/incretin#alternate; BMJ, June 2013
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the “Plaintiffs’ Hot List,” recognizing the top plaintiffs’ firms in the country, for the past 10 consecutive years.
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ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2013 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, 800-511-5092. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
info (at) consumerinjurylawyers (dot) com
http://www.januvialawsuithelp.com/
Felecia L. Stern, Januvia Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuit Help Center, http://www.januvialawsuithelp.com/, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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