Invokana Kidney Injury Alleged in New Lawsuit Against Janssen, J&J
A Mississippi plaintiff is alleging that the diabetes drug Invokana caused her severe and permanent injuries, including diabetic ketoacidosis, stroke, heart attack, and severe kidney damage.
The plaintiff says that the makers of Invokana, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, failed to properly design, develop, test and manufacture the diabetes treatment. As a result, she and others have suffered Invokana kidney injury that will affect them the rest of their lives.
According to the Invokana lawsuit, the plaintiff was prescribed Invokana in January 2014 to treat her type 2 diabetes. She says that she took the drug as directed. By September of that year, however, the plaintiff says that she was hospitalized for severe kidney injuries caused by Invokana.
Invokana was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration in 2013. The Invokana lawsuit alleges that the drug works by inhibiting glucose absorption in an effort to help those with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar; however, states the lawsuit, the extra glucose is sent through the kidneys of a population already at risk for kidney disease. The extra stress placed on the kidneys in this group increases the likelihood of injury in adult type 2 diabetics taking Invokana.
The drug makers exacerbated the problem of Invokana kidney injury by marketing the drug for off-label uses, including for weight loss, blood pressure and improved glycemic control in type 1 diabetics, alleges the Invokana lawsuit.
The plaintiff notes that analysis of FDA adverse events show that patients taking Invokana are several times more likely to report kidney injuries than those not taking the drug. Additionally, the FDA has received a significant number of reports of Invokana kidney injury, says the plaintiff.
Numerous defective drug lawsuits have been filed by Invokana patients alleging similar injuries caused by the diabetes drug. They have been consolidated into a mass tort called In re: Invokana (Canagliflozin) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2750, in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.
The drug makers failed to properly warn doctors and patients about the risk of Invokana kidney injury and other problems with the drug, alleges the Invokana lawsuit. Additionally, there are several safer alternatives that do not carry the same risk of permanent injury.
“Plaintiff agreed to initiate treatment with Invokana in an effort to reduce her blood sugar,” says the lawsuit. “In doing so, Plaintiff relied on claims made by Defendants that Invokana was safe and effective for the treatment of diabetes. Instead, Invokana can cause severe injuries, including kidney injuries. After beginning treatment with Invokana, and as a direct and proximate result thereof, Plaintiff suffered a severe kidney injury.”
Johnson & Johnson and Janssen “failed to properly assess and publicize alarming safety signals,” alleges the plaintiff, and even suppressed information revealing serious and life-threatening risks of the drug.
The plaintiff is seeking compensation for the past and future medical care she will require as a result of her Invokana kidney injury, as well as for pain and suffering. The plaintiff is also seeking punitive damages against the drug makers for “the wanton, willful, fraudulent, reckless acts of the Defendants who demonstrated a complete disregard and reckless indifference for the safety and welfare of the general public and to the Plaintiff” to deter them from such acts in the future.
The plaintiff estimates those damages will be in the tens of millions.
The case is Kelly v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Johnson & Johnson Co., Case No. 17-cv-07082-BRM-LHG.
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