Prescription drugs — medications administered by a licensed health care professional and overseen in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – play a major role in our health care system as well as our economy with the U.S. accounting for nearly $300 billion dollars a year in pharmaceutical sales, or almost half of the entire global market.  By definition, prescription drugs are not available to everyone and must go through an extensive testing process for safety and effectiveness.

Even with these restrictions and all the required testing, there are a number of drugs that have been found to cause illness, injury and even death.  When a harmful or defective drug is identified, the pharmaceutical company responsible for the research, development, manufacture and marketing of that drug may be found liable for injuries their drug causes to patients who used the drug.

Actos is a prescription drug which is manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceutical company and co-marketed in the United States by Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals and prescribed for the treatment of type-2 diabetes.  Recently the FDA has issued a safety announcement “informing the public that use of the diabetes medication Actos (piloglitazone) for more than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer” (see FDA safety report and warning) and warned patients that “there may be an increased chance of having bladder cancer when you take pioglitazone.”

The FDA has previously warned of increased risk of heart-related side effects and cardiovascular risks associated with Actos and required the drug manufacturers to add stronger warnings on the risks of heart failure to the entire thiazolidinedione class of antidiabetic drugs, which includes Actos as well as Avandia, Avandaryl, Avandamet and Duetact. (see FDA news release)

Patients who have suffered a serious injury caused by a related Actos side effect may be able to seek compensation for that injury.  Family members of injured patients may also be legally entitled to seek compensation.  It is important for you to have the information you need to stay safe or to properly protect your rights if you or a loved one are injured.

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The attorneys at Langdon & Emison have litigated a number of cases involving national brand name drugs, including: Yaz/Yasmin (Ocella birth control pills), Beyaz birth control pills, HRT (hormone replacement therapy), Fosamax, Avandia and Accutate.  As one of the nation’s preeminent product liability law firms, Langdon & Emison has successfully represented clients in numerous pharmaceutical and medical device matters.

We believe that pharmaceutical companies who manufacture and market unsafe drugs must be held legally and financially responsible when they put profit over safety and endanger or harm the lives of patients taking their drugs.

It’s up to all of us to help keep prescription drugs safe!