- Published: October 14th, 2020
- Last Updated: July 26th, 2023
Attorney Sean T. Keith has been a personal injury lawyer for 30+ years, a nationally recognized Top 100 Trial Lawyer, and top car accident lawyer & motor vehicle accident lawyer in Arkansas.
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Concerns Rise Over Diabetes Drug Containing High Levels Of A Cancer-Causing Agent
The most significant concern surrounding a drug injury is that it doesn’t have to happen.
Drug companies need to ensure their products are safe and do not trigger more harm.
With patients who are on a diabetes drug, the fallout can be even more severe.
The Food and Drug Administration requires drug companies to post information on the effects of medications and the potential risks they may produce.
But many drug companies will not put in enough of an effort to highlight these risks.
The worst part is that sometimes the risks can become exceptionally dramatic to the patient.
A recent example of this can be seen in a diabetes drug the Indian company Marksans Pharma Limited company produced.
The metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets produced by Marksans have an exceptionally high amount of NDMA, a company that may be a potential carcinogen that may cause cancer in humans.
Specifically, the metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets contain NDMA levels above the daily acceptable intake limit of 96 nanograms per day.
While people are often naturally exposed to NDMA in their diets, they only consume about one or two nanograms a day on average, if they consume any at all.
The elevated level of metformin in the diabetes drug could make Marksans liable for damages to people who develop various cancers due to excess NDMA consumption.
Marksans could have produced the drug while knowing that it had more of something that should not appear.
Table of Contents
The Concern With Metformin
Metformin is utilized in many a diabetes drug to lower the body’s blood sugar levels.
It improves the body’s ability to handle insulin.
Patients with diabetes are often prescribed metformin when diet and exercise alone are not good enough to control the condition.
But the FDA has found that many metformin-based drugs similar to what Marksans produces contain NDMA.
NDMA works as a compound that produces a base for medications.
The compound is known to be a carcinogen in people.
The excess amount of NDMA in metformin medications can be dangerous to patients.
It can cause various cancers, particularly stomach and intestinal cancers.
It may also trigger cancers in the esophagus, colon, or liver, and it may promote leukemia or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Marksans’ Diabetes Drug Problem
The issue from Marksans is that the company has not provided direct information on how much NDMA is in its diabetes drug, including any products that were recalled.
The FDA is currently investigating Marksans to identify how the NDMA got into the product.
Most medications have low NDMA levels, but why a company like Marksans will produce more of this compound than necessary should be noted.
The General Duty From the Drug Company
The drug company that produces something with cancer-causing ingredients should be held liable for the issue.
The company may be aware that it is producing a drug that causes cancer in some patients.
The drug manufacturer may be held liable for the issue at hand.
People who take the drug may be entitled to compensation for any injuries they experience while taking the drug.
The compensation comes as the drug might be more dangerous than it has to be.
The patient is trying to utilize a drug to resolve one’s diabetes, but it will cause a more dramatic concern for the patient.
The dramatic worry that comes with what the drug company has produced could be significant to all parties.
What Should a Patient Do?
Any patient who is taking this diabetes drug from Marksans will need to take action as soon as possible.
The patient should see one’s doctor immediately to identify if a person has developed any cancer growths.
It may be easier to treat these issues if they are identified soon enough.
The most important part is to ensure the patient receives the proper treatment to ensure the situation does not become any worse than it has become.
The patient should then report the drug injury to the FDA.
The effort may help the patient enter a program for compensation following a drug injury.
The patient should then contact a lawyer for proper representation.
A lawyer can help attain the compensation that the client deserves following the harm imposed by the injury.
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