{"id":353323,"date":"2016-07-28T15:45:28","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T20:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/injury\/product-liability\/onglyza-lawsuits.html"},"modified":"2025-09-19T11:32:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T16:32:00","slug":"onglyza-lawsuits","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/injury\/product-liability\/onglyza-lawsuits.html","title":{"rendered":"Onglyza Legal Information and FAQ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Onglyza Legal Information and FAQ<\/h1>\n\n
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\n By Christie Nicholson, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Oni Harton, J.D.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Type 2 diabetes drug Onglyza has been linked to serious health risks, including heart failure, pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer. Despite FDA warnings, the company failed to update its labeling. This lead to to hundreds of lawsuits nationwide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Onglyza<\/span>\u00a0is a type 2 <\/span>diabetes<\/span> drug<\/span> manufactured by AstraZeneca<\/span> Pharmaceuticals LP. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration<\/span> FDA<\/span> approved the drug, also known as\u00a0saxagliptin<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0in 2009. The drug has become a popular diabetes medication<\/span>, but it\u00a0also causes serious health complications. For example, studies show the drug causes an increased risk of heart failure<\/span>, pancreatitis<\/span>, and pancreatic cancer<\/span>.<\/p>\n

As a result, diabetes patients<\/span> have filed hundreds of Onglyza<\/span> lawsuits<\/span> nationwide. Most plaintiffs<\/span> argue that the drugmaker failed to warn them of the drug\u2019s\u00a0dangerous side effects<\/span><\/a>. Many others filed\u00a0wrongful death<\/span> lawsuits<\/a>\u00a0against AstraZeneca<\/span> after their loved ones<\/span> died.<\/p>\n

This article discusses Onglyza<\/span>\u2019s side effects<\/span> and heart failure and pancreatic cancer<\/span> litigation. It also answers several common questions about the drug\u2019s association with heart failure. If you have been harmed by Onglyza or another pharmaceutical, contact a product liability attorney<\/a> near you for personalized legal advice.<\/p>\n

What Is Onglyza<\/span>?<\/h2>\n

Onglyza<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is a\u00a0DPP-4 inhibitor<\/span><\/a>\u00a0used to help regulate blood sugar<\/span> levels\/blood glucose levels. It\u2019s not the only medication that works this way. Other drugs like alogliptin<\/span>, metformin<\/span><\/a>, and Kombiglyze<\/span> XR<\/span> also treat type 2 diabetes<\/span>. The difference is that these other drugs do not pose the severe side effects<\/span> Onglyza<\/span> poses.<\/p>\n

Since its FDA<\/span> approval in 2009<\/a>, Onglyza<\/span> has become a critical product for AstraZeneca<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Doctors grew concerned after the FDA<\/span>\u2019s\u00a0SAVOR<\/a>\u00a0(Saxagliptin<\/span> Assessment of Vascular Outcomes Recorded in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus) study found that patients who took Onglyza<\/span> had a 27% greater risk of developing congestive heart failure<\/span> and other cardiovascular diseases.<\/p>\n

In April 2015, the FDA<\/span> recommended that drugmakers include a\u00a0warning label<\/a>\u00a0indicating an increased risk for heart failure. The drug company ignored this advice.<\/p>\n

Onglyza<\/span> Lawsuits<\/span>: Heart Failure<\/h2>\n

Researchers published the results of the SAVOR study in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/span> in 2013. By 2015, the FDA<\/span> issued warnings about Onglyza<\/span>\u2019s increased risk of heart failure<\/span>. The FDA<\/span> issued a drug safety communication recommending that the drugmakers add a warning about this risk to their packaging. AstraZeneca<\/span> and Bristol-Myers Squibb<\/span> failed to take this advice.<\/p>\n

Both drug companies continued to market Onglyza<\/span> without the warnings. As a result, hundreds of\u00a0patients sued the drug companies<\/a>. The courts consolidated the cases, and Kentucky Judge Karen Caldwell oversaw the litigation.<\/p>\n

The courts formed a second multi-district litigation<\/span> (MDL<\/span>) case before Judge Anna-Christine Massullo in a California district court<\/span>. In both MDLs<\/span>, the\u00a0judges granted summary judgment<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in favor of the defendant drugmakers.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs<\/span> only had one expert witness, who\u00a0relied on just one clinical trial<\/span> in their testimony. The judges\u00a0held this was insufficient and excluded the expert from testifying at trial.<\/p>\n

The defendants filed motions for summary judgment<\/span>, which the judges granted. Thus, the MDL<\/span> in both states is essentially dead.<\/p>\n

In addition to the multi-district litigation<\/span> in Kentucky and California, hundreds of plaintiffs<\/span> filed suits in state courts<\/span>. None of these\u00a0class action<\/span> lawsuits<\/a>\u00a0have settled as of 2023.<\/p>\n

Onglyza<\/span> Lawsuits<\/span>: Pancreatic Cancer<\/span><\/h2>\n

In addition to heart failure, people who took other dipeptidyl-peptidase 4<\/span> (DPP-4) inhibitors<\/a>\u00a0similar to Onglyza<\/span>\u00a0also claim they developed pancreatitis<\/span> and pancreatic cancer<\/span> after taking these drugs.<\/p>\n

Plaintiffs<\/span> who believe their pancreatic cancer<\/span> was due to taking Onglyza<\/span> and other incretin<\/span> mimetic drugs saw the courts consolidate their lawsuits into a California MDL<\/span><\/a>. The plaintiffs<\/span>\u2019 counsel named several drug manufacturers<\/span> in the lawsuits.<\/p>\n

The California judge overseeing the pancreatic cancer<\/span><\/a> MDL<\/span> granted a motion for summary judgment<\/span> in favor of the drugmakers. The judge dismissed the litigation for the same reasons the Kentucky judge did. The judge found that there was a lack of expert evidence.<\/p>\n

Onglyza<\/span> and Heart Failure: FAQ<\/h2>\n

Below, you\u2019ll find answers to questions about Onglyza<\/span>, the risk of heart failure, and your legal options if this drug hurts you.<\/p>\n