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Many adults with the condition called Type-2 Diabetes rely on medications for their condition. Two such medications are the brand name drugs Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR. Like all medications, these have side effects, some of which may be annoyances, including things like nausea, vomiting, headaches, and cold symptoms.
However, some patients and doctors are claiming that the manufacturers of these medications failed to warn them about a potentially life-threatening side effect of heart failure. Both Onglyza and Kombiglyze contain the ingredient saxagliptin. Now, the manufacturers are facing multi-district litigation lawsuits regarding their failure to warn patients of the heart failure side effect, as the Lexington Herald-Ledger reports.
Dozens of the lawsuits have been transferred to the U.S. District Court in Lexington, Kentucky.
Over 80 of these lawsuits, which include 14 from New Jersey alone, have been under the oversight of U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell beginning on February 12th.
Two of these lawsuits originated in Kentucky, which has the fourth highest diabetes mortality rate in the nation according to the CDC.
Each plaintiff in the lawsuit claims that they suffered from serious cardiovascular injury after taking Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR, both of which contain the active ingredient saxagliptin.
Many of the claims are naming Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals as well as others as defendants. Attorneys for the plaintiffs claim that the companies failed to warn patients and doctors about the risk of heart failure.
A study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013 claimed that the drug increased the risk of heart failure by more than 25%.
In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated warning notes on Onglyza and Kombiglyze to state that for patients with heart and kidney disease, the medications increased the risk of heart failure.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and other companies argued against centralizing the lawsuits. They said that the number of cases was currently limited. They also stated that there was no evidence that the number of litigants would grow.
Have you been injured by taking the diabetes drug Onglyza or Kombiglyze? We can help. Call today.
