In February 2020, the manufacturer of the weight loss drug Belviq and Belviq XR issued a recall and pulled the drugs from the market at the request of the FDA. The FDA withdrawal request also advised patients to immediately stop taking the drug and dispose of the medication.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested the Belviq recall because a safety clinical trial shows an increased occurrence of cancer.
Belviq and Belviq XR are brand name versions for the popular weight-loss drug lorcaserin. In 2015 alone, over 600,000 prescriptions were filled. Lorcaserin, manufactured by Eisai, was approved in 2012 by the FDA. The FDA originally required that Eisai, the Japanaese drug-maker, to conduct a controlled clinical trial that tested for heart-related health problems.
Joe Lyon is a Cincinnati, Ohio Attorney reviewing drug-related cancer cases and Drug Recall Lawsuits. Plaintiffs nationwide should contact a pharmaceutical injury lawyer to discuss legal options.
The Food and Drug Administration requested a recall in U.S. markets citing concerns over the drug’s link to cancer. Since 2012, researchers have studied the medication’s safety.
The FDA released the following statement: “More patients taking lorcaserin were diagnosed with cancer compared to patients taking a placebo.” They went on to say the risks of taking the drug outweigh the benefits, based on the study.
The agency said it’s possible that several kinds of cancers could be linked to Belviq use, they named the following cancer risks:
Researchers analyzed around 12,000 patients during a study that aimed to identify cardiac risks, and instead discovered a risk of cancer. The study concluded that patients taking Belviq had a higher cancer diagnosis rate than those who took a placebo.
About 7.7 percent of patients who took Belviq had a cancer diagnosis compared to 7.1 percent who were given a placebo. The FDA reported that the longer a patient was on the drug, the greater the risk of developing cancer.
Attorneys have argued that the company should have issued warnings about a cancer risk seeing as early lorcaserin studies performed on rats hinted that the drug might cause cancer. Prior to FDA approval, the manufacturer’s testing linked the drug to an increased rate of cancerous tumors in rats.
FDA officials recommended that people stop taking Belviq immediately, and find an alternative treatment with the help of a physician. The cancer news leaves some other weight management drugs as options, including: Qsymia (phentermine/topiramate), Contrave (bupropion/naltrexone), Saxenda (liraglutide) and orlistat (Xenical).
As of now, the agency is not recommending any cancer screening for patients who took the drug, though following the Belviq recall, patients are urged to speak to their prescribing doctors and consider speaking to a drug recall attorney.
Healthcare providers should stop prescribing Belviq, and should contact their patients regarding the drug recall.
Belviq works to alter the brain’s chemical signals responsible for appetite and increases feelings of fullness to assist patient weight loss. The drug is meant to be used in combination with diet and exercise.
Belviq (lorcaserin) and XR (extended release) is sometimes prescribed to treat obesity linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. The medication does not treat underlying health conditions.
The Belviq cancer risks at the moment may include an increased risk of developing lung cancer, colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer. Other serious side effects may include:
Patients who took Belviq and developed cancer may be eligible to file a lawsuit. If you were diagnosed with pancreatic, colorectal, lung cancer, or another cancer, contact a drug injury lawyer.
Due to statute of limitations, it is important to act quickly and take legal action as soon as possible. In drug recall and pharmaceutical injury cases, The Lyon Firm works to seek the following damages:
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Joseph Lyon has 17 years of experience representing individuals in complex litigation matters. He has represented individuals in every state against many of the largest companies in the world.
The Firm focuses on single-event civil cases and class actions involving corporate neglect & fraud, toxic exposure, product defects & recalls, medical malpractice, and invasion of privacy.
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By taking the initiative and filing drug injury lawsuits, plaintiffs can receive proper compensation and hold a corporation accountable for their negligent actions. Consumer safety depends largely on making sure companies operate within the law and within ethical boundaries.
Yes, in February 2020, the Food and Drug Administration announced a voluntary recall of the drug over concerns of a possible increased risk of cancer.
While Eisai did comply with the request from the FDA and recalled Belviq from the market, they also released a statement about their disagreement with the safety assessment made by the FDA.
Eisai said the benefits of the drug outweighed the potential risk posed by the medication.
After the recall, healthcare professionals were meant to immediately stop prescribing the drug and contact patients taking Belviq and inform them of the potential risks of the drug.
If you have suffered an adverse side effect after taking Belviq, or have been diagnosed with any cancer, contact The Lyon Firm for a free case review.
When drug makers and large corporations are negligent and produce dangerous products that lead to serious illness and injury, legal action can be necessary. In the current corporate environment, filing lawsuits is one of the only ways to keep drug companies from selling untested and dubious pharmaceuticals in the name of profit.
Pharmaceutical litigation, through a lawsuit against a drug manufacturer, helps bring awareness to these companies as to the necessary changes that need to occur in order to keep people safe and healthy while taking a certain drug.
By taking the initiative and filing drug injury lawsuits, plaintiffs can receive proper compensation and hold a corporation accountable for their negligent actions. Consumer safety depends largely on making sure companies operate within the law and within ethical boundaries.
Pharmaceutical litigation is a complex area of law that combines dense regulation, developing science, and multi-jurisdictional questions of law. Most cases involving claims of drug injury and pharmaceuticals become centralized in the federal multidistrict litigation process. Pharmaceutical litigation involving injury claims are not in most cases not class action lawsuits, but they are very similar.
Due to the volume of cases and number of similar issues, most pharmaceutical cases are handled through Multidistrict Litigation (MDL). The multidistrict litigation procedure is guided by the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation, where the case is centralized before one federal Judge for the purposes of pre-trial discovery.
The MDL process is appropriate where there are one or more common questions of fact in multiple cases pending in different federal district courts. While there often are parallel state consolidated proceedings, the federal MDL process is generally supported by both Plaintiff and Defendants in these cases.
The MDL process allows for efficiency where there are millions of pages of documents, many expert witnesses across multiple disciplines from epidemiology, pharmacology, toxicology and the specific discipline for the relevant mechanism of injury.
Although 28 USC 1407 does not specify a specific number of cases required before the formation of an MDL is appropriate, the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation reviews the Motions and conducts a hearing to determine whether consolidation is ripe given the number and location of the pending cases.
Most people understand what a class action lawsuit is, and fewer are aware of what an MDL refers to. It is important for a claimant to know, however, that an MDL is not a class action, as the term is often misapplied in this context, and the original court (home or transferee jurisdiction) retains the authority to present the case at trial.
In most MDL settings, the case is resolved by way of settlement or a summary judgment motion on the questions of science (i.e., Daubert Motion). If either settlement or dismissal on Motion occurs, the case is not remanded to the originating court. If the case is not resolved at the MDL, then the case may be remanded to original jurisdiction for additional discovery on the case specifics and ultimately trial.
In past litigation, it has been discovered that drug companies often delay adding serious side effects to a drug’s label due to concerns about the impact on the sales and marketing. If a drug carries more serious side effects, physicians and patients look for alternative treatments with less risk and the same or similar benefit. As a result, there is a financial incentive not to strengthen the warning label.
However, the label is the source of information that physicians and patients rely upon when making these important health decisions. There is no excuse for a company not to update its label when the science is sufficient to show an association with the medication.
A few examples of drug injury:
Testosterone: Low T clinics are under investigation after many patients receiving testosterone therapy have reported strokes and heart attacks. Experts say doctors may be pushing the therapy when not every aging man requires testosterone therapy.
Antibiotics: Antibiotic injuries are being reported at record rates as the drugs are prescribed more than ever before. Drug resistance and drug injury rates are on the rise, concerning the medical community and consumer protection attorneys.
Diabetes Drug Injury: Severe side effects are being reported by diabetes patients taking Invokana and other diabetes medications. Amputations and gangrene cases have opened the eyes of many taking the drugs, and lawsuits have been filed on their behalf.
Drug Contamination: Valsartan and Losartan contamination cases have raised the risk of patient cancer. Drug companies have failed to control the production process and put consumers at unnecessary risk.
Opioid Painkiller Lawsuits: Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and other large drug companies are deep in pharmaceutical settlement talks many years after the beginning of the opioid addiction crisis. Thousands of Americans die each year in opioid-related overdose deaths, many of which begin with doctors over-prescribing pain medications.
Depo Provera: Confidential settlement from Pfizer to resolve all of the claims currently pending in the New Jersey State coordinated litigation. Joseph Lyon represented 13 females who suffered osteoporosis due to the failure of Pfizer to properly warn them and their physicians.
Seroquel: AstraZeneca resolved claims for $198 Million regarding claims that the company failed to warn about risks of diabetes and excessive weight gain. The Lyon Firm participated in this settlement and represented numerous claimants. In addition to the individual claims, Federal prosecutors and authorities from several U.S. states investigated whether AstraZeneca promoted Seroquel off-label, or for uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company announced a settlement of $520 million with the U.S. Justice Department over the matter.
Trasylol: Bayer resolved certain claims for $60 Million for patients who suffered heart failure and death as a result of the drug Trasylol. Trasylol was a drug used to prevent excessive bleeding during heart surgery. The science unequivocally showed Trasylol can cause kidney damage, heart failure and strokes, and greatly increase patients’ risk of post-surgery death when compared to rival treatments.
In 2006, a study by Dr. Dennis Mangano was published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluding that the drug more than doubled the risk of renal failure. After fourteen years on the market, Bayer suspended sales in November 2007. The Lyon Firm participated in this settlement.
Vioxx: Merck settled the outstanding Vioxx claims for $4.85 billion. The Lyon Firm participated in this settlement. In 2004, after a study showed Vioxx doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes, Merck pulled Vioxx from the market. The case was then litigated with 16 trial ultimately going to the jury for a decision. Merck prevailed in 11 of the 16 trials.
Despite the settlement, Merck has not admitted that that Vioxx caused injuries. Each claim under the settlement was analyzed under an protocol that weighed such factors as a user’s age, their length of use, and their health risks such as obesity or hypertension. The individual extraordinary payout for a heart attack case was capped at $600,000.
Our Firm will help you find the answers. The Firm has the experience, resources and dedication to take on difficult and emotional cases and help our clients obtain the justice for the wrong they have suffered.
Experience: Joe Lyon is an experienced Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Lawyer. The Lyon Firm has 17 years of experience and success representing individuals and plaintiffs in all fifty states, and in a variety of complex civil litigation matters. Pharmaceutical lawsuits can be complex and require industry experts to determine the root cause of an accident or injury. Mr. Lyon has worked with experts nationwide to assist individuals understand why an injury occurred and what can be done to improve their lives in the future. Some cases may go to a jury trial, though many others can be settled out of court.
Resources/Dedication: Mr. Lyon has worked with experts in the fields of accident reconstruction, biomechanics, epidemiology, metallurgy, pharmacology, toxicology, human factors, workplace safety, life care planning, economics, and virtually every medical discipline in successfully representing Plaintiffs across numerous areas of law. The Lyon Firm is dedicated to building the strongest cases possible for clients and their critical interests.
Results: Mr. Lyon has obtained numerous seven and six figure results in personal injury, automotive product liability, medical Negligence, construction accidents, and auto dealership negligence cases. The cases have involved successfully litigating against some of the largest companies in the world
The Lyon Firm aggressively, professionally, and passionately advocates for injured individuals and families against companies due to a drug to obtain just compensation under the law.
This pharmaceutical case involved claims that the blockbuster painkiller was causing heart attacks and strokes in consumers. The FDA ultimately recalled the medication. Merck settled the outstanding Vioxx claims for $4.85 billion following multiple trials in both state and federal courts. Joe Lyon was co-counsel in a number of individual claims that were successfully resolved in the federal MDL. The funds received for Lyon Firm clients helped several elderly clients with additional medical and home health care.
A pharmaceutical case involving claims that a popular surgical medication was causing kidney failure and death. The FDA recalled the medication in question, but not before thousands of patients died due to related complications. Bayer resolved certain claims for $60 Million for patients who suffered kidney failure and death as a result of using the drug Trasylol. Joseph Lyon represented a widow from Kentucky whose husband died due to kidney failure following the administration of Trasylol. The recovered funds assisted the surviving family members in resuming farming operations.
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