Invokana and Leg and Foot Amputations – Diabetes Drug Leads to Lawsuits

More than 900 lawsuits are pending in federal court over a well-known diabetes drug. Many of the suits link Invokana and leg and foot amputations.

Invokana is a popular prescription medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. Scores of Invokana lawsuits claim the manufacturers of the drug failed to warn patients and physicians of the increased risks of amputations.

The lawsuits related to Invokana injuries have been brought against Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. They were recently combined before a federal judge in New Jersey where discovery and evidence gathering is taking place

The lawsuits were given impetus by a warning issued last July by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the type 2 diabetes medicine and a group of similar drugs posed an increased risk of amputations and additional warnings should be added to the boxes.

Although much of the publicity has centered on Invokana and leg and foot amputations, other makes of the drug canagliflozin, namely Invokamet and Invokamet XR are linked to an increased amputation risk among users. The FDA stated:

“We are requiring new warnings, including our most prominent Boxed Warning, to be added to the canagliflozin drug labels to describe this risk.”

The FDA concluded in clinical trials that leg and foot amputations occurred approximately twice as often in patients treated with canagliflozin compared to patients treated with a placebo.

Diabetics who are taking canagliflozin should notify their healthcare professionals immediately if they develop new symptoms of pain or tenderness, ulcers, sores or infections in their legs or feet.

The FDA urged patients to talk first to their healthcare providers if they have questions or concerns. They should not stop taking diabetes medicine without first talking to a doctor.

The FDA urged doctors to consider factors in patients before prescribing Invokana, Invokamet and Invokamet XR such as factors that may predispose patients to the need for amputations. These factors include a history of previous amputation, neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, and diabetic foot ulcers.

Patients who report these symptoms should discontinue taking canagliflozin if these complications occur.

Invokana is a Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. It’s a drug that has become increasingly popular in recent years, notwithstanding the link between Invokana and leg and foot amputations.

Invokana is used for type 2 diabetes, a condition that can lead to serious problems like nerve and kidney damage, blindness and heart disease if untreated.

Canagliflozin is prescribed along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. Canagliflozin lowers blood sugar in diabetics’ kidneys by causing them to remove sugar from the body through the urine.

If you or a loved one has suffered a leg or foot amputation related to Invokana, Invokamet, and Invokamet XR, please call our Virginia dangerous drugs injury lawyers today at (757) 455-0077.