The popular diabetes type-2 treatment Onglyza (saxagliptin) was jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Onglyza is a popular medication, partly because it effectively controls blood sugar and does not encourage weight gain like other diabetes medications.
The FDA has already recognized the link between Onglyza and a different health threat, heart failure. In April 2015, the FDA recommended that Onglyza should include a label warning patients of the increased risk of heart failure associated with the drug. And now it has been linked with pancreatic cancer.
Onglyza effectively controls blood sugar and, unlike many diabetes drugs, does not encourage weight gain, making it the ideal choice for an increasing number of diabetes patients.
Onglyza belongs to a class of drugs known as incretin mimetics, which stimulate the production of insulin in the pancreas to help regulate blood sugar levels in patients with type-2 diabetes. Incretin mimetics are a relatively new family of diabetes drugs which gained popularity after Avandia, another popular diabetes medication, was recalled after it was linked to a dramatic increase in the risk of cardiac death.
Pharmaceutical companies and physicians are on the lookout for safer alternatives for the treatment of type-2 diabetes, and incretin mimetics held promise. However, following the Avandia recall, experts are on high alert about potential heart risks and other dangerous side effects associated with the diabetes drugs.
If you have suffered from heart failure, pancreatitis, cancer, or other serious side effects after using Onglyza, you may be able to take legal action.