Byetta Lawsuit Filed For Pancreatitis

A diabetic patient who developed pancreatitis as a side effect of Byetta has filed a lawsuit in a California state court. This is reportedly the first Byetta lawsuit to be filed in the United States involving pancreatitis.

The personal injury lawsuit was filed on August 20, 2008, by Victor Deleon in the San Diego Superior Court. Deleon was hospitalized in December 2007 with pancreatitis after using Byetta, an injectable medication used for treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The complaint was filed against Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., the San Diego-based manufacturer of Byetta, and Eli Lilly & Co., the co-marketer of the diabetes drug.

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The Byetta lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to adequately test and monitor the side effects of their drug, and failed to issue prominent warnings on the label about the risk of pancreatitis.

Byetta is the brand name of exenatide, which is injected subcutaneously twice a day to help diabetics reduce their blood sugar levels. It was approved by the FDA in April 2005, and it has been used by over 700,000 people in the United States. The diabetes drug generated sales of about $636 million in 2007.

In October 2007, the FDA issued a statement that they had received 30 post-marketing reports involving the development of acute pancreatitis in patients taking Byetta. At that time, the FDA and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., changed the labeling to include additional information about the risk of pancreatitis under the ‘Precautions’ section.

On August 18, 2008, the FDA issued a second alert to healthcare providers about six additional cases of necrotizing or hemorrhagic pancreatitis among users of Byetta. These six new cases, which involved severe forms of pancreatitis, occurred after the October 2007 warnings. All six patients were hospitalized as a result of the pancreatitis, and two of them died.

The FDA and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. are currently working on changing the labels on the drug again to add stronger language, which will be placed more prominently, about the risk of acute pancreatitis from Byetta.

Deleon’s Byetta lawsuit alleges that the defendants possessed information about the risk of pancreatitis due to Byetta, but failed to take steps which could have prevented the serious and potentially life threatening condition for users.

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6 Comments

  • cindyJune 20, 2012 at 12:34 am

    i started taking byetta nov.2011, by jannuary i started with all the stomach issues and now im close to a complete kidney failure due to the byetta..i guess everyone is different but i also think that doctors need to educate the patient 100% on what may happend and not just say here lets try this...

  • PatJune 30, 2010 at 10:39 am

    I took Byetta since 2007 and didn't have any problems until January 2010. I started having side pain, indigestion, and my blood pressure went into stroke range. I went to ER and was admitted to the hospital with what was suspected to be a pending heart attack. I am a very healthy senior citizen and this scared me half to death. The hospital was not able to get the Byetta so I stopped taking it[Show More]I took Byetta since 2007 and didn't have any problems until January 2010. I started having side pain, indigestion, and my blood pressure went into stroke range. I went to ER and was admitted to the hospital with what was suspected to be a pending heart attack. I am a very healthy senior citizen and this scared me half to death. The hospital was not able to get the Byetta so I stopped taking it. Within 3 days my symptoms stopped. I had a echo, cardiac catherization and chemical stress test. There were absolutely no negetive findings.

  • LillieMarch 8, 2010 at 3:45 pm

    I've been taking the byetta shot since May of 2008 and a month ago I started having severe stomach pains. My Endocrinologist ordered blood work that showed I have severe pancretitis. I was told to stop taking the shots. Its only been a few days since I stopped so I still feel bad.

  • StephenNovember 18, 2009 at 8:29 pm

    I have been taking Byette for years and it was paid for by bluecross and then later medicare (Humana). You just need to show that the other oral medicatons didn't work and they will approve it.

  • ChristyOctober 23, 2009 at 12:13 am

    I have used Byetta for two and one-half years. With a very, very strong family history of diabetes, and having glucose intolerance, I have had good results with this drug. I even pay for it myself because my Blue Cross Blue Shield will not!

  • MarkJuly 2, 2009 at 4:15 pm

    I using Byetta for a while until I was having side pain and then I was pissing blood I went to the emergency room and the doctor stated that I passed a kidney stone. After seen another doctor it wasn't a kidney stone it was the Byetta, so my doctor had taken me off byetta and my side don't hurt any more also i don't have blood in my piss.

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