An increased risk of pancreatitis after taking Januvia or Janumet, both Type 2 diabetes drugs made by pharmaceutical giant Merck & Company, is causing patients to file Januvia lawsuits claiming that Merck knew about the increased risk of Januvia side effects – such as pancreatitis – but failed to warn them.
Januvia information
Januvia and Janumet are both drugs made by Merck & Company that are meant to be used by diabetics to improve the body's insulin resistance. Januvia is sitagliptin and Janumet is a combination of sitagliptin and metformin – an old-line drug which diabetics have used to improve the intake of sugars.
As you may recall from your biology days, the pancreas makes insulin which helps to digest sugars in the blood. If you don't have enough insulin, you're going to run high blood sugars which are very destructive to the human body. High blood sugars cause organs and nerves to deteriorate and can cause blindness and neuropathies. Sometimes it will attack different organs such as the stomach. It's a highly problematic disease and highly costly to the government because there are many, many diabetics who are insulin-dependent.
Januvia is unique
While there are many oral hypoglycemic drugs on the market, Januvia injury lawyers say that what was unique about Januvia was that it's an inhibitor of what's called the DPP-4 enzyme (dipeptidyl peptidase) and was the first drug on the market to work in that manner – which they say is obviously why it was a big deal for Merck to be the first of its kind in that class.
Insufficient Januvia warnings lead to Januvia lawsuits
There was another drug that had come out several years ago called Byetta which was manufactured and marketed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly. It was an injectable drug also used by type 2 diabetics and was launched around June 2005. Although some Januvia attorneys say that warnings to the medical profession on Byetta were probably better and probably sufficient to carry the dangers of pancreatitis, they claim that Merck should have known about the problems that Byetta was facing and should have put Januvia warnings on their products as well. However, they didn't and now face Januvia lawsuits.