Fla. Woman Sues Pharmaceutical Giants Over Byetta Induced Injuries

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A Florida woman is suing pharmaceutical giants Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly & Co. for  injuries she sustained from the type-2 diabetes treatment drug, Byetta. Regina Skiba alleges that as a direct result of taking the medication, she developed pancreatic cancer.

Skiba was first prescribed Byetta in 2006 to treat her type-2 diabetes symptoms and used the drug until 2011, reporting no side effects. Sometime later, Skiba started developing unexplained symptoms, which led to the cancer diagnosis in 2012.

Skiba is filing her lawsuit based on the televised commercials and FDA announcements about Byetta and other related medications causing pancreatic cancer in patients. Skiba states that if she had known about this side effect, then she never would have taken the medication. Additionally, Skiba asserts that Amylin and Eli Lilly had the responsibility to warn her and other consumers of the risks.

Skiba’s lawsuits accuses Amylin and Eli Lilly of negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

Overview of Byetta Complications

Byetta is one of the leading drugs in helping patients with type-2 diabetes manage their symptoms, and is one of the most popularly prescribed treatment drugs in the United States. Byetta was first approved by the FDA in April 2005, and has since become one of the top-selling drugs in America. In 2010, worldwide sales of Byetta reached $700 million with marketing experts predicting the drug to reach sales over $1 billion by 2015. It is manufactured and marketed jointly by the pharmaceuticals giants Amylin and Eli Lilly.

Byetta is a member of the drug family called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), therapeutic drugs to help treat the symptoms of type-2 diabetes. This drug works by signaling incretins in the body to manage insulin and blood-sugar levels in the body, which prevents diabetic attacks. Despite the popularity of this drug family, there have been recent concerns of the drugs causing severe side effects in patients, including pancreatic cancer.

Statistics gather from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) have indicated a strong correlation between Byetta and several adverse reactions. The most common of these side effects was pancreatitis, a common precursor to pancreatic cancer. It is currently unknown as to what may be causing this side effect, but scientists suspect that it has to do with how the patient metabolizes the drugs.

Despite the seriousness of this side effect, Amylin and Eli Lilly had failed to mention pancreatic cancer as a side effect on Byetta’s label, leading to the litigation the company is currently facing.

The case is In Re: Incretin-Based Therapies Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2452, in the U.S. District Court of Southern California.

File a Byetta Class Action Lawsuit Today

If you believe that you or a loved one have been the victim of a Januvia or Byetta complications, you have legal options. See if you qualify to join a free class action lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation for you or your loved one’s injuries:

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