Janumet Lawsuit

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Janumet has recently been linked to serious side effects including pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and thyroid cancer. The medication belongs to a controversial new class of oral diabetes drugs known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors which are used to help lower blood sugar levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes. The law offices of Schmidt & Clark, LLP, are accepting potential Janumet lawsuits on behalf of individuals who developed pancreatic cancer or thyroid cancer after using Janumet.

Janumet Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuit Update 5/6/13: Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly have stated that they agree that pancreatic cancer lawsuits involving the diabetes drugs Byetta, Januvia, Janumet, and Victoza should be centralized before a single judge for pretrial handling. The proposed multidistrict litigation (MDL) was filed last month by a group of plaintiffs who claim to have developed pancreatic cancer after taking the type 2 diabetes medications. Click here to learn more.

Free Confidential Case Evaluation: If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer or thyroid cancer after taking Janumet, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against the manufacturer of Janumet and we can help.

What’s the Problem?

Manufactured by Merck & Co., Janumet (metformin and sitagliptin) is an FDA-approved prescription drug used to help lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. The medication is designed to work by increasing insulin production in response to food intake and decreasing the amount of sugar the liver manufactures. As a DPP-4 inhibitor, Janumet slows the breakdown of incretin hormones, thereby increasing levels of these substances in the body. Conversely, this action increases insulin production in response to meals and decreases the amount of glucose (sugar) the liver manufactures. Janumet was approved by the FDA on March 30, 2007.

Side Effects of Janumet

Despite showing considerable effectiveness as a diabetes medication, Janumet and other similar diabetes drugs such as Byetta and Januvia have been linked to the following serious side effects:

• Pancreatic Cancer
• Thyroid Cancer
• Pancreatitis
• Acute Pancreatitis
• Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis
• Necrotizing Pancreatitis

Janumet Pancreatitis

In September 2009, the FDA issued a warning regarding numerous cases of pancreatitis in patients taking Janumet and Januvia. At the time of the warning, at least 88 cases of acute pancreatitis – including two cases of hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis in patients being treated with sitagliptin – were reported to the FDA between October 2006 and February 2009. Signs and symptoms of acute pancreatitis may include:

• Upper abdominal pain
• Abdominal pain that radiates to your back
• Abdominal pain that feels worse after eating
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Tenderness when touching the abdomen

Chronic pancreatitis symptoms may include:

• Upper abdominal pain
• Indigestion
• Losing weight without trying
• Oily, smelly stools (steatorrhea)

Symptoms of hemorrhagic pancreatitis may include:

• Flu-like symptoms
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• High fever
• Sweating
• Clay-colored stools
• Hiccups
• Indigestion
• Jaundice

Necrotizing pancreatitis symptoms may be manifested through:

• Drop in blood pressure
• Shock
• Pain in the upper abdominal region
• Nausea
• Fever

Click here to learn more about pancreatitis from the Cleveland Clinic.

Janumet Pancreatic Cancer

Research has demonstrated that diabetic patients being treated with Janumet face an increased risk of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer death among adults in the country. Each year, nearly 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease, and almost 40,000 die from it. Unfortunately, Janumet pancreatic cancer is hard to diagnose until its later stages in which it has grown beyond the pancreas to other parts of the body. Symptoms of Janumet pancreatic cancer include:

• weight loss
• dark urine
• clay-colored stools
• back pain
• jaundice

Click here for more information on Janumet pancreatic cancer from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer, another potential complication of Janumet, is a disease that forms in the thyroid gland, an organ that manufactures hormones which regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and weight. Four types of thyroid cancer exist including papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancer. These manifestations of the disease are based on how their specific cancerous cells look under a microscope. Each year around the country, about 60,000 new cases of thyroid cancer are diagnosed, and nearly 2,000 people die from it. Signs and symptoms of Janumet thyroid cancer may include:

• a lump or nodule in the front of the neck near the Adam’s apple
• hoarseness or difficulty speaking in a normal voice
• swollen lymph nodes
• difficulty swallowing or breathing
• pain in the throat or neck

Click here to read more about Janumet thyroid cancer from the Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. (ThyCa).

Do I Have a Janumet Lawsuit?

The Product Liability & Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Janumet lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new Janumet pancreatic cancer and Janumet thyroid cancer cases in all 50 states.

Free Janumet Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer or thyroid cancer after taking Janumet, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a Janumet suit and we can help.