According to a New Jersey woman, Jessica Calongne blames Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen subsidiary for its failure to warn about the risk of kidney failure linked to the side effects of Invokana.
Calongne recently filed her lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Calongne developed an acute kidney injury less than a month after starting treatment with Invokana, which led to kidney failure.
Calongne was prescribed Invokana to treat type 2 diabetes in April 2015, and she developed renal failure by the end of May.
Calongne claims that Johnson & Johnson misrepresented that Invokana is a safe and effective treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus when in fact the drug causes serious medical problems which require hospitalization and can lead to life-threatening complications, including diabetic ketoacidosis, and kidney failure.
Calongne alleges that her injuries were preventable and resulted directly from Johnson & Johnson’s failure and refusal to conduct proper safety studies, failure to properly assess and publicize alarming safety signals, suppression of information revealing serious and life-threatening risks.
What is Invokana?
Invokana (canagliflozin) was the first member of a new generation diabetes drug to hit the market, known as sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors.
SGLT-2 inhibitors alter normal kidney functions to increase the amount of sugar excreted in the urine. Other members of this new class include Farxiga, Jardiance, Invokamet among others.
Invokana Side Effects
Invokana filters sugar out of the blood by the kidneys and this sugar is expelled as a waste. As a result of this, the body loses the carbohydrates that it needs to function, and the kidneys become stressed and damaged by sugar molecules.
Because of a reduced amount of circulating sugar, the body goes into “starvation” mode where it begins to break down muscle tissue and stored fat to generate ketones as fuel.
This condition is called “diabetic ketoacidosis” and can be deadly if left untreated.
FDA Invokana Warning
In June 2016, the FDA required the drug makers to add a new Invokana safety warning, highlighting that the diabetic medication may increase the risk of acute kidney injury and kidney failure.
The FDA have also required new Invokana warnings about a risk of diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious medical condition associated with elevated levels of acid in the blood.
Invokana Federal Multidistrict Litigation
Since December 2016, all federally-filed Invokana injury lawsuits have been consolidated as part of the federal Invokana multidistrict litigation (MDL), which is centralized before U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti in the District of New Jersey to coordinate discovery and pretrial proceedings.
If you or someone you know succumbed to an Invokana Ketoacidosis or kidney failure from taking Invokana for the treatment of their type 2 diabetes, please call us for further information at 888-210-9693. Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm is investigating Invokana Ketoacidosis or kidney failure from taking Invokana for the treatment of their type 2 diabetes.
Shezad Malik is an Internal Medicine and Cardiology specialist, a Texas Medical Doctor (retired) and Defective Medical Device and Dangerous Drug Attorney. Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm has offices based in Fort Worth and Dallas and represents people who have suffered catastrophic and serious personal injuries including wrongful death, caused by the negligence or recklessness of others.
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