Lipitor is a popular drug used for lowering cholesterol. The drug is made by Pfizer and has now been linked to possibly increasing the risk of developing diabetes.
The number of lawsuits against Pfizer have been adding up and they and have now been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation. Allegations are made in the lawsuit that Pfizer did not adequately warn consumers of the risks involved with taking Lipitor and developing diabetes. Pfizer did update its labeling on the drug in 2012 to include the risk of diabetes, but plaintiffs in the lawsuit believe the new labels are not sufficient.
Statins are a class of drug that are used to reduce levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood – this is considered bad cholesterol. This then lowers cholesterol, which a contributing factor in developing heart disease. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2012 as part of the Women’s Health Initiative stated that over the course of the study an association between medications belonging to the statin class and the development of type 2 diabetes in women. The risk was especially prevalent in women who were post-menopausal.
Margaret Clark is one of the plaintiffs in a recent Lipitor lawsuit. Her lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District of South Carolina in April. Her story describes how she was prescribed the drug in 2002 after it was discovered that she was at risk for heart disease. She was at a healthy weight at the time. But then Clark was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in February 2012. She alleges that Pfizer was aware of the connection between the drug and type 2 diabetes even before Lipitor was made available to the public in 1997. But the company only added the labels warning of this connection in February 2012, and only after the FDA requested that a warning be put on the drug so that consumers and the medical community be made aware of the risks associated with taking the drug.
Clark’s lawsuit alleges, however, that the warning issued by the company was not clear. Instead of specifically mentioning type 2 diabetes, the warning said the drug “Increases in HbA1c and fasting serum glucose levels have been reported with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, including LIPITOR.”
The multi district lawsuit goes on to describe how prior to the new labeling, Pfizer never warned patients that taking Lipitor could cause changes in blood sugar levels. And that the current label still fails to warn consumers about the type 2 diabetes risk.
After the lawsuits regarding Lipitor began accumulating there was a request filed in an attempt to centralize the suits pertaining to diabetes and that request was granted. Multidistrict litigation suits are different from class action lawsuits because each claim is still argued on an individual basis.
