Victoza Pancreatic Cancer / Byetta Pancreatic Cancer / Januvia Pancreatic Cancer
Recent reports by the US Food and Drug Administration have raised concern that some diabetes drugs are associated with an increased risk for pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, pancreatitis, and other serious medical conditions.
The drugs most strongly associated with pancreatic cancer are exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon), liraglutide (Victoza), and sitagliptin (Januvia, Janumet, Janumet XR, Juvisync), manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk, and Merck, respectively, but these are not the only GLP-1 therapy drugs with questionable safety.
Byetta, Victoza, and Januvia are incretin-based medicines, used as a part of GLP-1 therapy for Type II diabetes. Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D. of Mayo Clinic, explains Byetta and Victoza as follows:
“Exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon) and liraglutide (Victoza) are taken by injection, similar to insulin, but they’re not insulin. These drugs are in a class of drugs called incretin mimetics, which improve blood sugar control by mimicking the action of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Among other things, these drugs allow insulin, which lowers blood sugar, to work more effectively in the body.” Click here to read the entire report by Dr. Collazo-Clavell on GLP-1 therapy drugs.
According to the FDA, other drugs in this class include “saxagliptin (Onglyza, Kombiglyze XR), alogliptin (Nesina, Kazano, Oseni), and linagliptin (Tradjenta, Jentadueto).”
On 3/14/2013, the FDA announced that it was “evaluating unpublished new findings by a group of academic researchers that suggest an increased risk of pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, and pre-cancerous cellular changes called pancreatic duct metaplasia in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a class of drugs called incretin mimetics.” (emphasis added)
This FDA communication was prompted by ahead-of-print research by Sonal Singh, MD, MPH et al. (2013) in Journal of the American Medical Association titled “Glucagon like Peptide 1–Based Therapies and Risk of Hospitalization for Acute Pancreatitis in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus” that found the risk of “acute pancreatitis” was doubled with both recent and “current use of GLP-1–based therapies”.
This has prompted a number of scientific studies on the link between Byetta, Victoza, Januvia, and pancreatic cancer. Though medical researchers have previously determined that GLP-1 therapy drugs are strongly associated with pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), and though the fact that pancreatitis can lead to pancreatic cancer is well-known, studies linking GLP-1 therapy drugs such as Byetta, Januvia, and Victoza and pancreatic cancer had not been published until relatively recently.
For example, P.C. Butler et al. (2013) published a paper in Diabetes Care titled “A critical analysis of the clinical use of incretin-based therapies: Are the GLP-1 therapies safe?” showing that GLP-1 therapy is associated with cancer. Thankfully, as of 08/15/2013, the FDA has required that the manufacturer of Byetta perform a study evaluating the ever-more-clear association between Byetta and pancreatic cancer.”
Victoza Cancer Lawsuit / Byetta Cancer Lawsuit / Januvia Cancer Lawsuit
When studies such as those referenced above are published, especially in such prestigious peer-reviewed academic research journals, one can conclude that the manufacturers of these diabetes drugs knew, or should have known the risk for pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer associated with their products.
Due to the fact that many studies demonstrating that these GLP-1 therapy drugs are associated with cancer have been published, but boxed warnings on the packaging of these drugs fail to adequately reflect this information, many Victoza pancreatic cancer lawsuits, Byetta pancreatic cancer lawsuits, and Januvia cancer lawsuits are being filed.
If you or a loved one used a GLP-1 therapy drug such as Byetta (exenatide), Victoza (liraglutide), or Januvia (sitagliptin), and suffered from pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer, do not hesitate to contact our team of Byetta lawyers, Victoza lawyers, and Januvia lawyers the information provided below.
(855) 452 – 5529
We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve, even from the largest of pharmaceutical manufacturers. Call today and see how we can help!
Also, every post we’ve written about Byetta / Victoza / Januvia is available here.