The Fatal Timeline for Invokana and Type II Diabetes Patients

How Johnson & Johnson’s “innovative” type II diabetes drug soars to the top-grossing medicine in its class...and crashes onto the desks of Invokana lawyers.

March 2013

Johnson & Johnson welcomes Invokana into the pharmaceutical market as the “newest class of medicines” that effectively lowers blood sugar levels by working with the kidneys. The beast of a pharmaceutical company invested millions of dollars just into marketing, confident the drug would become their golden child. In six months, Johnson & Johnson spent $7 million on doctor speaking fees in favor of the drug and another $16 million for advertisements in medical journals. Despite the upfront costs, it proved to be a successful investment as Invokana quickly became the top-grossing drug in its class of medicines.

Behind the scenes, the drug was not as optimistically perceived. In evaluating Invokana, the FDA listed areas of concerns that required additional studies. Such studies included cardiovascular outcomes for long-term patients, bone safety, and two studies on how the drug works in children. Johnson & Johnson agreed to these and more as post-market studies, as 10 of the 15 members of the FDA advisory committee still permitted it to hit market immediately.

May 2014

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) links deadly side effects to Invokana. After one year of medical sales Invokana is found responsible for 457 health problems - higher than 92 percent of other drugs regularly monitored by the ISMP.

But, even more shocking than the sheer numbers was the severity of the reported health problems. Invokana led to patient’s suffering heart attacks, kidney damage and failure, and most seriously of all, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or acidic blood. DKA was an entirely new side effect for type II diabetes medications, as DKA is only prominent in type I patients.

May 2015

ISMP’s QuarterWatch reports come out, questioning why the type II diabetes drug was initially approved, as the cons were proving to outweigh the pros. Shortly after, the FDA releases its first warning for Invokana for its connection to the above health risks, setting the stage for Invokana lawsuits. Lawyers quickly begin forming cases for patients, arguing Johnson & Johnson put profit before patients by not conducting long-term studies prior to the market release.

September 2015

The FDA releases a second drug safety communication alert for Invokana, but this time for an entirely new side effect. The warning labels on the type II diabetes medicine are strengthened to include an increased risk of bone fractures and decreased bone mineral density, or overall bone strength. Patients began suffering from fractures as early as 12 weeks and lost bone density in their hip and lower spine regions.

Only to the immediate public was this a “new” side effect, however. During the 2013 approval process for Invokana, the FDA did order a post-market study on bone safety. The safety alert, more than two years later, was the result of the concluded study on unknowing patients.

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If you or a loved one experienced any side effects or wrongful death after taking Invokana, consider contacting an Invokana attorney for help.