Orange, Va. February 15, 2013. The Miller Firm and the Branch Law Firm recently announced that on February 19, 2013, they will bring the first Actos case to trial against Takeda Pharmaceuticals on behalf of Jack Cooper, an Actos patient struggling with terminal bladder cancer. This first trial is significant because it could influence subsequent trials for some 1,000 other people who have claimed that they were not warned that bladder cancer was a risk with taking Actos for diabetes.
Mr. Miller, the Managing Partner of the Miller Firm said: “Too often product liability cases take too long to bring to trial thereby delaying justice, sometimes until after the victim has died. Mr. Cooper’s cancer has advanced very rapidly. We are pleased we can bring this case to trial as quickly as we have.”
Pioglitazone is a prescription drug sold as “Actos” in the United States. Actos is used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus Type 2 and can also be used for diet or exercise programs. It is not used to treat Type 1 diabetes. Actos is in a class of medications called thiazolidinediones. It works by increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin, a natural substance that helps control blood sugar levels.
Zealous advocacy and determination by Branch and Miller won Mr. Cooper his day in court just one year after the case was filed. Mr. Cooper’s attorneys prevailed to have the case placed on an expedited schedule despite the massive challenge of analyzing more than 750,000 documents and 11,000,000 pages of discovery.
At his doctor’s advice, Mr. Cooper took Actos for more than five years to treat his borderline diabetes. Unfortunately, Mr. Cooper was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2011, which he believes is a direct result of taking Actos. Within a year, cancer claimed his bladder, appendix, and pelvic lymph nodes. In September of 2012, his doctors informed him that the cancer had moved to his lungs, a development that generally marks the end stage of the disease.
Actos was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1999. Patients and doctors received no warning that the drug could cause bladder cancer. More than a decade later, in a June 2011 announcement, the FDA indicated that the “use of the diabetes medication Actos (pioglitazone) for more than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer.”
The Miller Firm and The Branch Law Firm are national practices involving the representation of individuals who have been seriously injured by pharmaceutical or other defective products. If you have any questions, please call 1 (888) 281 – 3578.
| Michael Miller | Turner Branch |
| The Miller Firm, LLC | The Branch Law Firm |
| The Sherman Building, 108 Railroad Avenue | 2025 Rio Grande Boulevard NW |
| Orange, VA 22960 | Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104 |
| millerfirmllc.com | www.branchlawfirm.com |