Onglyza (saxagliptin) is a diabetes medication that is linked to pancreatic cancer, heart failure, rhabdomyolysis, and other severe side effects.
Do I Have a Texas Onglyza Lawsuit? Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged. If you or a loved one was injured by a severe side effect, you should contact our lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit.
Onglyza Side Effects
- Bile duct disease
- Bullous pemphigoid
- Gallbladder disease
- Heart failure
- Joint pain
- Pancreatic cancer
- Rhabdomyolysis
FDA Evaluating Rhabdomyolysis Risk
The FDA is evaluating a potential signals of a serious risk and new safety information linking DPP4 diabetes drugs and rhabdomyolysis. This potentially life-threatening kidney side effect was identified by the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) between April and June 2017.
Onglyza Heart Failure Lawsuit Filed in Illinois
November 5, 2015 — A woman from Chicago has filed a wrongful death lawsuits against AstraZeneca after her mother died from heart failure after taking Onglyza. Click here to read more.
August 28, 2015 — The FDA has issued a Safety Communication about the risk of severe, disabling joint pain from Onglyza. Click here to read more.
April 13, 2015 — Patients who use Onglyza to treat type-2 diabetes may be significantly more likely to be hospitalized with heart failure, according to an FDA analysis of clinical trial data. Click here to read more.
February 11, 2014 — The FDA has published a Drug Safety Communication and launched an investigation after the New England Journal of Medicine publishes a study linking Onglyza and a 27% increased risk of hospitalization for heart failure. Click here to read more.
What is the problem with Onglyza?
Onglyza (saxagliptin) is a new drug in a class of anti-diabetes medications called “incretin mimetics.” These drugs lower blood-sugar levels by stimulating the growth of beta-cells in the pancreas. Beta-cells are responsible for producing insulin, the hormone that lowers blood-sugar.
The problem with Onglyza and all incretin mimetic drugs is that they have only been sold in the United States for a few years, and the long-term consequences are still being researched. There is already concerning evidence linking Onglyza and pancreatitis (pancreas inflammation) — including post-marketing reports of people who developed pancreatitis after using Onglyza. Pancreatitis is a major risk-factor for pancreatic cancer.
FDA Warning: Study Links Onglyza and Pancreatic Cancer
Our Onglyza lawyers are particularly concerned about a study published in March 2013 in Diabetes which found alarming evidence that incretin mimetic drugs can adversely affect the pancreas. The FDA also published a Safety Communication to announce they were investigating a link between Onglyza and pancreatic cancer.
Researchers took pancreases from eight deceased patients who were using incretin mimetic drugs like Onglyza, and compared the organs to 12 diabetic patients who were using other drugs, and 14 people who did not have diabetes.
They found that the patients who were taking an incretin mimetic had 40% more massive pancreases, 6-times more beta-cells in the pancreases, evidence of “eccentric” pre-cancerous cellular changes, and adenomas (benign pancreatic tumors). Although the tumors were not malignant, they are normally removed surgically because they can become malignant. After surgery, patients require lifelong insulin injections, and they have a higher risk of dying from pancreatic cancer.
At the very least, researchers warned about the increased risk of surgery to remove pre-cancerous growths:
“Since the standard of care of a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, because of the risk of conversion to malignancy, even if benign, is surgical resection [i.e. removal], patients exposed to incretin therapy would seem to be at increased risk of requiring pancreatic surgery.”
Onglyza and Heart Failure
In February 2014, the results of the SAVOR clinical trial were published by the New England Journal of Medicine. Alarmingly, researchers found a 27% increased risk of hospitalization for heart failure associated with diabetes drugs in the incretin mimetic class, such as Onglyza. About a year later, the FDA recommended label changes to warn about this potentially deadly side effect.
Need an Onglyza Lawyer in Texas?
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