A California couple filed a Janumet lawsuit against Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. in June after the husband allegedly developed terminal cancer from his use of the type-2 diabetes drug.

Plaintiffs Peter and Beverly Tabb filed this Janumet lawsuit after Mr. Tabb developed pancreatic cancer, which they allege was caused by his medication.

According to the Janumet lawsuit, Mr. Tabb was prescribed the type-2 diabetes drug in April 2010 as part of his treatment. Mr. Tabb continued to use Janumet until September 2010 when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The Janumet lawsuit alleges that Mr.Tabb was not at risk of developing pancreatic cancer until he began to take Janumet, which like many incretin mimetic drugs, have been linked with the development pancreatic cancer.

Had Mr. Tabb had known of the risks associated with consuming Janumet, he says he might have taken a different medication to manage his diabetes, he said in his Janumet pancreatic cancer lawsuit.

The Tabbs are charging Merck with allegations of strict liability, failure to warn, negligence, breach of warranty, punitive damages, loss of consortium, and wrongful death.

This Janumet pancreatic cancer lawsuit is one of over 440 pending product liability civil and class action lawsuits in the larger multidistrict litigation In Re: Incretin-Based Therapies Products Liability Litigation. Diabetic consumers who have taken Byetta, Januvia, Janumet, and/or Victoza and later developed pancreatic cancer are pursuing legal action within this larger MDL.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia presides over the incretin mimetic MDL and is expected to approve bellwether trials within the next year.

The Janumet Pancreatic Cancer Lawsuit is Peter Tabb, et al. v. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Case No. 3:14-cv-01560-AJB-MDD. It has been filed within In re: Incretin-Based Therapies Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2452, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Diabetes Drug and Increased Pancreatic Cancer Risk

The above-named MDL consists of a group of Januvia lawsuits related to the use of incretin mimetic drugs. This diabetic prescription medication is meant to mimic the effect of naturally occurring incretin hormones in the human body. All individuals need incretin hormones to lower blood sugar levels after eating a meal.

However, type-2 diabetes patients do not produce enough incretin to regulate their blood sugar levels or encourage the absorption of glucose in the bloodstream.

While many diabetic patients have found incretin mimetic drug injections to be extremely helpful in managing their medical condition, these injectable drugs do not come without additional health risks. As a result, many consumers have filed civil and class action lawsuits alleging they developed pancreatic cancer after using Januvia, Victoza, Janumet, and/or Byetta incretin mimetic drugs.

There has also been an additional 55 reported consumer cases of thyroid cancer associated with incretin mimetic drug use.

In general, Janumet pancreatic cancer lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

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