Canada Adds Bladder Cancer Warning to Actos Label
Canada Health warns public of bladder cancer risks and heart failure when using the diabetic drug Actos.
In June of 2011 both France and Germany issued a recall on Takeda Pharmaceutical’s Actos. At that time Canada opted to wait and do a safety review on the diabetes drug. Now, however, Canada concludes that action is necessary. The new Actos label will warn of the high risks of bladder cancer and heart failure. Also, Health Canada is recommending that people with family history of bladder cancer or blood in their urine not take Actos at all.
Patients taking Actos at this time are advised to speak to their health care professional before stopping the drug.
In the U.S., many federal Actos lawsuits are being consolidated so that rulings will be consistent and resources and costs will be kept to a minimum. A class action lawsuit against Actos was filed in Canada in December 2011.
