Byetta, Januvia Lawsuits Over Pancreatic Cancer Continue to Roll In

The number of pancreatic cancer lawsuits filed against the makers of Byetta, Januvia, Janumet and Victoza continue to increase, despite recent doubts raised by federal regulators about evidence linking the diabetes treatments to a cancer risk.  

Byetta, Januvia, Janumet and Victoza belong to a class of diabetes drugs known as incretin mimetics, which have been linked to a risk chronic pancreatitis and recent studies have suggested users may also face a risk of developing pancreatic cancer following use of the medications.

A growing number of users began filing Byetta lawsuits, Januvia lawsuits, Janumet lawsuits and Victoza lawsuits earlier this year, amid several studies that raised questions about the safety of the medication.

In March 2013, the FDA and European drug regulators launched investigations into the potential risk of pancreatic cancer from incretin mimetics after results of a small, independent study found evidence of precancerous cells in the pancreas of users of the drugs.

Late last month, the federal regulators released statements indicating that their review of all available data has found no evidence of a connection between pancreatic cancer and use of Byetta, Januvia or other incretin mimetics.

The findings seem to be having little, if any, impact on the number of new cases filed, with at least two dozen new complaints brought throughout the federal court system over the past few weeks involving the drugs.

All of the complaints involve similar allegations that the manufacturers failed to adequately research the potential side effects of incretin mimetics or warn users and the medical community about the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

A motion is currently pending before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate and centralize the litigation before one judge for coordinated handling during pretrial proceedings. Oral arguments on the motion were heard last month, but a decision about whether to establish an MDL or Multidistrict Litigation for the incretin mimetic pancreatic cancer cases has not yet been issued.