Actos Bladder Cancer Lawyer

The Actos attorneys at my law firm are now reviewing cases for individuals who developed bladder cancer while taking Actos.  If you or a loved one have developed bladder cancer and take or took Actos, I would like to talk to you.  I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, and I’ll give you an honest evaluation of what your legal options are.  An Actos lawsuit may or may not be the best option for you – call or e-mail me today if you’d like to know more.  My e-mail address is justinian@dangerousdrugs.us, and you can call me toll-free at 855-452-5529.  Below is some background information on the link between Actos and bladder cancer.

Actos is the brand name for the drug pioglitazone.  Actos was approved by the FDA in 1999 for the treatment of type II diabetes.  Actos was jointly developed by Takeda North America and Eli Lilly.  Actos is sold by itself, and in combination with the drug metformin (Actoplus Met, Actoplus Met XR) and in combination with glimepiride (Duetact).  There will not be a generic version of Actos until sometime in 2012.

In September of 2010, the FDA issued a safety announcement regarding the risk of developing bladder cancer while using Actos.  The FDA was prodded into action because of the following events:

  • Kaiser Permanente announced that it had found a statistically significant increase of bladder cancer among patients who used Actos for 24 months or longer.
  • In 2005, a study called PROactive revealed that a higher percentage of patients taking Actos developed bladder cancer than patients taking other drugs.
  • The results of a three-year liver-safety study showed that patients taking Actos developed bladder cancer at a higher rate than those taking other drugs.
  • The American Diabetes Association published Assessing the Association of Pioglitazone Use and Bladder Cancer Through Drug Adverse Event Reporting.  That study examined reports of adverse events reported to the FDA.  The study came to the conclusion that the evidence is “consistent with an association between pioglitazone (Actos) and bladder cancer.”
  • Both France and Germany suspended the use of Actos due to the results of a four-year study of 1.5 million patients with diabetes.  That study also found an increase in bladder cancer among patients who used Actos compared to other drugs.

In June of 2011 the FDA ordered that the label for Actos needed to be changed to reflect the risk of bladder cancer associated with long-term use of Actos.  In July, the manufacturer of Actos recalled the drug – but only in France.  Actos is still on sale in the U.S.