Tasigna Heart Attack and Stroke Injury Problems
The lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are reviewing potential Tasigna lawsuits for individuals who have suffered a heart attack, stroke or other injuries that may have been caused by arteriosclerosis, which involves a narrowing and hardening of the arteries that may result from side effects of the leukemia treatment.
Increasing evidence suggests that many individuals who experienced these problems may have avoided severe and life-threatening injuries if Novartis had adequately researched their medication and provided information about these known risks to users in the United States.
Tasigna (nilotinib) was introduced in 2007, and aggressively promoted as a replacement for another Novartis drug, Gleevec, which was about to lose patent protection and become available as a generic. To protect the substantial sales, Novartis promoted use of Tasigna while failing to warn about serious side effects.
After adverse event reports and published case reports in multiple medical journals highlighted the risk of heart attacks and strokes on Tasigna, Health Canada required Novartis to update the Tassigna warning label in April 2013, indicating:
- Cases of atherosclerosis-related conditions from Tasigna have been reported during clinical trials and post-marketing use of the drug, which can include heart attacks and strokes;
- Users should report heart problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high glucose before Tasigna treatment;
- Doctors should monitor for signs of Tasigna atherosclerosis side effects during treatment, including checking cholesterol and blood sugar levels before and during treatment;
Although many of the reported problems on Tasigna came from within the United States, and users here face the same risks, Novartis has failed to provide similar warnings for U.S. doctors or patients.
Many individuals and families may have avoided devastating injuries from Tasigna if warnings had been provided, including:
- Heart Attacks
- Strokes
- Amputations
- Wrongful Death
While it is early in the investigation, the Tasigna lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are providing free consultations and case evaluations for individuals and families throughout the United States to help determine what legal options may be available.
1 Comment • Add Your Comments
Michael says:
I am a 73 yo male with CML for the last several years. Tasigna was initially prescribed by my oncologist and it was effective in reducing my platelets to normal levels as well as the BCR-ABL to undetectable. On April 23, 2021 at 6:30 AM I experienced severe dizziness then complete loss of direction and stability. My wife called 911 and I was rushed to the hospital where a CAT scan revealed that i experience a ischemic infarct in my left cerebellum. ER docs administered TPA with permission and after some time elapsed I regained function and a somewhat clear sense of up. I spent 3 days in the ICU and 1 day in a stepdown room before being discharged with complete recovery of motor skills, albeit I am still going for memory therapy.
Posted on July 15, 2021 at 5:51 pm