First came Avandia, the former number one selling diabetes medication that becamse better known for causing heart attacks and strokes. Then came Actos, which also became the best selling diabetes medicine in the country, thanks in part to the removal of Avandia from the market after years and years of cardiovascular side effects from it. That allowed Actos to rise to the top of the multi-billion dollar diabetes drug industry, even though some of the initial Actos testing showed the likelihood for an increased bladder cancer risk. Now that millions of Americans have used the drug and thousands, possibly even tens of thousands, are now being treated for Actos bladder cancer. Is it that the FDA makes more mistakes on drugs with the biggest markets or just that these drugs get the most attention because more people suffer from their side effects? While the list of potential sde effects is long and usually gruesome, it’s unlikely that most people would take a drug if cancer was on that list. Actos bladder cancer cases will undoubtedly cause anyone taking that drug to think very carefully about their next medication.
Dangerous Diabetes Drug Afflicts Tens of Thousands with Side Effects
Posted by mgudemanMay 16
Diabetes Drug Actos Found to Increase Risk of Bladder Cancer
Posted by mgudemanMay 16
Actos rose to prominence years after the leading diabetes medication, Avandia, was conclusively linked to increased risks of heart attack, stroke and other forms of cardiovascular disease. Despite numerous FDA warnings and even a US Senate Finance Committee inquiry, the drug was allowed to remain on the market, ultimately causing more than 83,000 heart attacks and tens of thousands of deaths. As Avandia began to be prescribed less, the drug Actos quickly gained market share, despite the very first tests of the drug showing an increased risk of Actos bladder cancer. Now the FDA has issued a safety warning about bladder cancer and Actos has been recalled in France, also because of the bladder cancer risk. Actos was approved the FDA in 1999 and has been used well over two million people during some of its peak years. More research is being done about Actos and bladder cancer in those that have taken the drug, but in the meantime, just how worried do people taking Actos need to be about bladder cancer?