The risk of Invokana amputation remains a real threat to the increasing number of consumers globally who have been prescribed the type 2 diabetes drug. Manufacturer Janssen (a division of Johnson & Johnson), first received a green light for public sales of the drug five years ago, but even that was only with a confidence vote of 10-to-5, indicating serious safety concerns right from the very start.
National media outlets at the time reported comments from several U.S. Food & Drug Administration members who revealed they didn’t think the drug should be taken at all by patients who suffer even moderate kidney disease. Further, Invokana amputation was almost twice as likely to happen as amputations associated with other similar types of diabetes treatment drugs.
Approximately 7,500 adverse events were reportedly linked to Invokana in just a single recent year. The FDA ordered a black box warning in 2017, specifically for the increased Invokana amputation risk. Black box warnings, you may recall, are those that denote a call to attention for a serious and potentially life-threatening side effect or health risk that has been linked to use of a certain drug or medical device.
But even as hundreds of Invokana amputation injury lawsuits pend in a multi-district litigation action in New Jersey, a recent report by 360 Market Updates reveals investors continue to be concerned about the sharp drop in sales of Invokana over the last year.
CNBC reports operational sales of Invokana dropped nearly 30 percent to $267 million (still no small peanuts). It’s projected to face pressure into the future, thanks to competition from companies like Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim Jardiance. It’s a crowded market that’s gotten even tighter with the FDA’s approval in December of Merck and Pfizer’s new type 2 diabetes drug, Steglatro. Given the increased risk of Invokana amputation, many patients and doctors are reticent to take the risk – even though type 2 diabetes is a condition that can’t be allowed to go untreated, as health risks in some cases may be higher for not taking the drug (.e., nerve damage, heart disease, kidney damage and blindness). But it does appear consumers are seeking a safer alternative.
Still, these patients have a right to be given fair warning about the risk they are undertaking. Virtually no medication is risk-free. However, it’s the failure to warn that trips up many pharmaceutical companies in these product liability lawsuits.
When our Utah Invokana amputation attorneys pursue a case for strict product liability, we know that the failure to provide an adequate warning to consumers on the label of that product can be considered, for all intents and purposes, a product defect. When a person has sustained serious harm (which might include surgery, hospitalization, necessity of ongoing medical care), one can take action for these additional expenses, as well as the time they were forced away from work and compensation for the mental anguish and pain and suffering they have endured. In the event of a fatal Invokana amputation or other injury, either the person’s estate and/or survivors may pursue wrongful death litigation. Our dedicated Salt Lake City Invokana amputation attorneys can help.
Contact the James Esparza Law Group in Salt Lake City, Utah for more information on filing an Invokana amputation injury lawsuit. Call (800) 745-4050.
Additional Resources:
INVOKANA- DRUG INSIGHT, 2018, Jan. 1, 2018, 360 Market Updates
More Blog Entries:
Invokana Amputation Risk Remains High, Even as Study Indicates Lower Cardiac Risk, April 8, 2018, Invokana Amputation Attorney Blog