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Saxenda - Weight Loss Drug Linked to Pancreatic Cancer

Similar to other medications in the widely-used class of drugs known as incretin mimetics, the injectable weight loss prescription, Saxenda, has been tied to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in users. In fact, Saxenda is merely a higher dose of the Type 2 diabetes drug Victoza, an incretin mimetic that has been linked to thyroid cancer and pancreatic cancer side effects. If you or a loved one has suffered pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer while taking Saxenda, don’t hesitate to protect your legal rights. Consult a knowledgeable Saxenda attorney to discuss the possibility of filing a product liability lawsuit against Saxenda maker Novo Nordisk.

Saxenda Lawsuit Information

Since Saxenda is a relatively new drug, the Saxenda litigation is still in the early stages, but other incretin mimetics that have been on the market for more than a decade have been named in hundreds of lawsuits filed on behalf of patients and surviving family members, alleging pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer and other serious side effects. Lawyers across the country are currently investigating pancreatic cancer cases involving Saxenda, and lawsuits filed against Saxenda maker Novo Nordisk are expected to be based on the pharmaceutical company’s failure to warn about the potential risk of pancreatic cancer. Drug makers like Novo Nordisk are responsible for the safety and effectiveness of their medications and are expected to conduct adequate testing before submitting a drug for approval. When they fail to do so, or when they withhold important information about drug side effects from the public, consumers are the ones who pay the price.

Reasons to Bring About Saxenda Litigation

• Saxenda is defective and poses an unreasonable risk of side effects
• Saxenda was not tested properly
• Novo Nordisk knew or should have known about the potential for Saxenda to cause pancreatic cancer
• Consumers were not properly warned about this risk

“Saxenda is merely a higher dose of the Type 2 diabetes drug Victoza, an incretin mimetic that has been linked to thyroid cancer and pancreatic cancer.”

Reasons to Bring About Saxenda Litigation

What is Saxenda?

Saxenda (liraglutide) is a prescription weight loss injection approved by the FDA in 2014 for the treatment of clinical obesity in adults. Saxenda is a glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist belonging to a class of drugs known as incretin mimetics, which have been plagued by reports of pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer and other serious side effects in recent years. Saxenda works by imitating the effects of GLP-1, a hormone produced in the intestines that signals to the brain when the stomach is full. By essentially “tricking” the brain into thinking the stomach is full, Saxenda can help suppress appetite.

As it turns out, liraglutide has actually been on the market since 2010, under the brand name Victoza, an injectable Type-2 diabetes medication that has also been linked to an increased risk of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer in users. The recommended Saxenda dose actually contains twice as much liraglutide as Victoza, which was identified as the suspected cause of 348 deaths and more than 3,000 hospitalizations between 2010 and 2014. According to reports, at least 100 of those patient deaths were the result of pancreatic cancer.

How a Saxenda Lawsuit Could Help

• Medical bills
• Hospitalizations
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of income
• Punitive damages
• Loss of consortium
• Wrongful death

History of Saxenda

The underlying problem with incretin mimetic drugs like Saxenda, Januvia, Victoza and Byetta is that they are known to cause abnormal cell growth in the pancreas, and since the first incretin mimetic garnered FDA approval in 2005, there have been growing concerns about the potential for these drugs to cause pancreatic cancer. In 2007, the FDA issued a drug safety communication indicating that the use of incretin mimetic drugs may increase the risk of acute pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas. At that time, the FDA required the makers of incretin mimetics to include information about the potential risk of pancreatitis in their product information and warnings.

Although the Saxenda label contains a black-box warning about the potential risk of thyroid tumors and acute pancreatitis, there are no warnings about an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in Saxenda users. This is despite a 2009 study, in which researchers found that increased GLP-1 levels, common in patients taking incretin mimetics like Saxenda, were the probable cause of pancreatic and thyroid cancer in rodents. Another study of autopsied individuals conducted by researchers at UCLA Medical School found tumors and cell abnormalities in the pancreases of individuals who had been taking incretin mimetic drugs for a year or more. In 2013, research conducted by Johns Hopkins University found that these medications not only doubled the risk of acute pancreatitis in users, but also increased their risk of pancreatic masses and precancerous tumors.