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Prominent Research Group Calls Invokana A Dangerous Gamble

Our office has closely followed developments with the diabetes drug Invokana. Invokana is in a class of drugs known as sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. This is a relatively new class of drugs also including Farxiga, Jardiance, Glyxambi, and Xigduo XR. These drugs treat diabetes by altering kidney function to stop reabsorption of glucose into the patient’s blood stream. We have a page on our firm website discussing these drugs, how they work and their link to diabetic ketoacidosis. Despite being a new drug at the time we published our initial page, Invokana had already been linked to numerous adverse health reports. Since then, even more potential injury risks have emerged. You can read about these developments in several posts on this blog.

In its recent QuarterWatch report, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) calls Invokana a “dangerous gamble.” The ISMP report opens with the following paragraph:

The nation’s gamble in embracing new drugs for long-term use with only short-term clinical testing was most apparent in the rapid acceptance into clinical practice of a new class of oral diabetes drugs called sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. There are now three such agents, canagliflozin (INVOKANA), dapagliflozin (FARXIGA), and empagliflozin (JARDIANCE). Since approval, evidence of multiple safety problems has emerged.

Almost immediately after the drug entered the market, the FDA began receiving adverse health reports of diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious and life-threatening injury involving a build-up of acid in the blood. Symptoms include:

  • Confusion
  • Abdominal Pain
  • Difficulty with Breathing
  • Nausea
  • Fatigue or Sleepiness

Since our initial report, Invokana has continued to be linked to additional potential personal injuries and deaths. As ISMP reports, this drug is a poster-child for our current system that rushes drugs to market for patient use despite a lack of long-term clinical testing. Our nation is taking a huge gamble by marketing new drugs with little or no clinical testing.

Patients in Alabama, and throughout the United States, deserve better. In recent years, we have investigated and pursued claims involving several drugs marketed without adequate or long-term testing. The result of a rush to market = needless patient injuries and deaths. It’s not just bad drugs. We currently represent numerous women injured by dangerous transvaginal mesh implants. These women suffer tremendous injury, pain and disability. Like bad drugs, the transvaginal mesh products were marketed without adequate or long-term clinical testing. It’s the same with power morcellators as well as numerous other drugs and medical devices. The FDA should act to protect consumers from bad drugs and dangerous medical devices. Yet, it often fails this important purpose.

The ISMP report discusses multiple potential injuries now possibly linked to the use of Invokana and other drugs in its class. Here is a short-roundup of potential Invokana injuries we’ve discussed on our website and blog posts:

  1. Diabetic Ketoacidosis (See our Hot Topics report)
  2. Leg and Foot Amputations (See our blog post titled How Dangerous Is Invokana?)
  3. Kidney Injury (See our blog post titled Invokana Warnings Continue To Rise)

We will continue to investigate developments related to the drug Invokana. If you or a loved one have been affected by Inovkana, we would be happy to answer questions or provide additional information.