Actos has become one of the most popular treatments for type 2 diabetes melli
tus. Now the FDA is warning of a link between Actos and bladder cancer. A recent study showed that the risk increases by 40% after 12 months on the drug. That risk is significant enough that the use of the drug has been suspended in France and no new patients are to be started on the drug in Germany. The FDA is suggesting that doctors limit the use of Actos while it continues to study the matter.
According to class action law firm Girard Gibbs, who is investigating the drug, early symptoms include blood in the urine, an urgent need to urinate or pain while urinating, and low back or lower abdomen pain.
The irony is why Actos is so popular:
Actos, despite links to heart failure risk and other serious side effects, became the No. 1 diabetes pill after Avandia, the only other drug in that class, was found in 2007 to sharply increase risk of heart attacks. Avandia’s use was banned in the EU and sharply restricted here. Actos sales jumped from about $2.9 billion in 2006 to more than $4.3 billion last year.
More at the Actos lawyers’ website.