Australian Actos Victims Set To Join U.S. Class Action Lawsuit

Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of diabetes drug Actos, is already facing legal action in the U.S. following allegations that the drug can cause bladder cancer in patients. Now, thousands of Australian patients who were given the drug and claim that they have experienced serious side effects are being given the chance to join the American class action.

International studies have now repeatedly highlighted the increased chance of cancer in patients who have taken Actos.

The problems caused by Actos have become increasingly well publicized. In the U.S., the FDA issued a warning about Actos and bladder cancer in 2011, requiring a change of labeling which in turn paved the way for legal action and the ongoing class action. International studies have now repeatedly highlighted the increased chance of cancer in patients who have taken Actos, identifying the drug’s key ingredient, pioglitazone, as a significant factor in increasing this risk. Several European countries, including France and Germany, have discontinued the drug’s use. Australia, however – along with New Zealand – continues to allow Actos and related products to be prescribed. For some in Australia, this is an oversight that needs addressing.

The Australian drug authority, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), did issue a warning in 2011, and announced a review of the drug and related data which led to a significant drop in the drug’s use. Nevertheless, Actos remains more widely used in Australia than in other countries, and the TGA’s required warnings on the product’s labels are seen as weaker than those in the U.S. Now, Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn has announced it will be joining in a class action against Eli Lilly and Takeda, the co-manufacturers and distributors of Actos. Having initially filed to join the class action on behalf on a single patient, the firm has been contacted by others, and with more than one million Actos prescriptions known to have been given out, the number of those who could eventually join is not yet known.

Drugs covered in international studies and with reported links to bladder cancer are: Actos, ActoPlus Met, ActoPlus Met XR and Duetact.