The FDA has warned that Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering drug, may influence blood-sugar levels and increase a patient’s risk of type-2 diabetes. Recent studies have found that the risk is 50% higher for post-menopausal women. Pfizer is now facing over 1,600 lawsuits for failing to warn about this side effect.
UPDATE: Lipitor Diabetes Lawsuits Tossed as Judge Rejects Causation
January 6, 2017 — A judge has dismissed most of the 2,800 lawsuits alleging that Lipitor causes diabetes, due to a lack of evidence of a risk at doses below 80mg per day. Click here to read more.
June 27, 2016 — Pfizer is facing approximately 3,000 federal lawsuits claiming the blockbuster anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor causes type-2 diabetes. Click here to read more.
September 18, 2015 — Federal judges have reported that 2,550 lawsuits involving Lipitor and diabetes have been centralized in South Carolina. Click here to read more.
May 8, 2015 — Over 2,000 people who were diagnosed with type-2 diabetes after taking Lipitor have filed lawsuits against Pfizer. Click here to read more.
March 5, 2015 — Lipitor and other cholesterol-lowering statins may increase the risk of type-2 diabetes by 46% in men over 45 year old, according to a new study from researchers in Finland. Click here to read more.
February 5, 2015 — The plaintiff in the first Lipitor trial is a woman who used the cholesterol-lowering statin for 15 years before she was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Click here to read more.
January 29, 2015 — The first federal “bellwether” trial involving a plaintiff who was diagnosed with diabetes after taking Lipitor has been scheduled for October 2015 in South Carolina. Click here to read more.
October 7, 2014 — A man who says he was injured by glass particles in generic Lipitor has filed a lawsuit against its manufacturer, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals. Click here to read more.
September 26, 2014 — A study published in The Lancet has found a 12% increased risk of type-2 diabetes from statins, such as Lipitor, which is likely due to the drug itself and not some underlying risk-factor in the patient. Click here to read more.
August 14, 2014 — In the last five months, the number of lawsuits involving Lipitor and diabetes has surged from 56 to nearly 1,000, according to a review of federal court filings by Reuters. Click here to read more.
July 24, 2014 — Diabetes Care has published a study linking higher rates of type-2 diabetes with higher doses of cholesterol-lowering statins. Patients who took the highest doses were 32% more likely to develop new-onset diabetes. Click here to read more.
June 12, 2014 — A study published in the British Medical Journal has linked the use of high-potency statins with a 9% increased risk of diabetes compared to low-potency statins. Click here to read more.
June 2, 2014 — The number of Lipitor lawsuits has grown to 704, according to a May 15 update from the JPML. This means over 200 lawsuits were filed since the last update from the JPML on April 15, when just 464 cases were pending. Click here to read more.
May 21, 2014 — A woman from Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against Pfizer after she took Lipitor from 2006-2012 developed type-2 diabetes. Click here to read more.
April 28, 2014 — The Journal Star reports that a Lipitor lawsuit has been filed by a Nebraska woman who was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes after using Lipitor to treat high cholesterol for nine years. At least 464 Lipitor lawsuits are now pending in the federal MDL. Click here to read more.
February 20, 2014 — Reversing its decision from last year, a panel of federal judges has ordered that more than 200 Lipitor lawsuits involving type-2 diabetes will be centralized in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in South Carolina. Click here to read more.
September 23, 2013 — Study links Lipitor and other statins to a 9-27% increased risk of cataracts. Longer use of the drugs is associated with a higher risk of cataracts. Click here to read more.
August 7, 2013 — A woman from Daingerfield, Texas has filed a lawsuit against Pfizer. She took Lipitor in 2006 and was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes in 2009. Click here to read more.
July 25, 2013 — Today, plaintiffs’ lawyers presented oral arguments for the establishment of a federal court to centralize Lipitor lawsuits. Click here to read more.
July 12, 2013 — Study involving nearly 250,000 people links Lipitor and other statins to a 9% increased risk of type-2 diabetes. Click here to read more.
July 11, 2013 — A woman from Mississippi has filed a lawsuit against Pfizer after she took Lipitor for three years and was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Click here to read more.
June 11, 2013 — A study published in the British Medical Journal has linked “high-potency” Crestor to a 34% increased risk of kidney damage than “low-potency” statins. Click here to read more.
June 6, 2013 — A woman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has filed a lawsuit after she took Lipitor for eight years and was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. She alleges that Pfizer was negligent for failing to warn about this side effect. Click here to read more.
What is Lipitor?
Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a cholesterol-lowering medication in a class of drugs called statins (also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors). Lipitor prevents the liver from producing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which reduces the amount of “bad cholesterol” floating in the bloodstream.
After Lipitor was approved in 1997, it became the most-prescribed drug in the world for more than a decade. It has been used by more than 26 million Americans, and generated $11 billion in revenue per year to Pfizer until the patent expired in November 2011.
What is the problem with Lipitor?
Having high cholesterol is associated with heart attacks, stroke, heart disease, and cardiovascular problems. Lipitor is effective at decreasing mortality for people with pre-existing cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol. However, its effectiveness for people without pre-existing cardiovascular disease is not clear.
Many experts believe that Lipitor is widely over-prescribed as prophylaxis against cardiovascular disease. This means patients could be needlessly taking a drug and exposing themselves to serious danger. Pfizer is currently facing a growing number of Lipitor lawsuits alleging that they failed to warn about the risks.
Lipitor and Type-2 Diabetes
Lipitor now carries warnings that it can elevate blood sugar levels and may cause type-2 diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic, progressive metabolic disorder characterized by cellular insulin resistance and high blood-sugar levels. If it is not controlled, it can lead to fatal complications.
The risk of diabetes from Lipitor appears to be small, but studies have found significantly higher risks for people with the following risk factors:
- Excess weight
- High blood sugar
- High triglycerides (blood fat)
- High blood pressure
- Post-menopausal women
FDA Warnings for Lipitor and Diabetes
In February 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published Drug Safety Communication to announce new warnings about Lipitor and diabetes. The FDA specifically warned about “reports of increased blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.” Higher amounts of glycosylated hemoglobin indicate poor blood-sugar control and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and kidney damage.
The FDA Safety Warning cited the following studies:
- JUPITER Study — Researchers found a 27% increase in physician-reported diabetes in patients taking Crestor (another type of statin) compared to patients who were given a placebo (sugar pill).
- PROVE-IT TIMI 22 study — Researcher linked Lipitor to high blood-sugar levels.
Unfortunately, many Lipitor lawsuits allege that these FDA warnings about diabetes are still not strong enough.
Studies of Lipitor and Diabetes
Numerous studies of Lipitor and diabetes have identified increased risks, including:
- February 2010 — Lancet published a meta-analysis of 13 studies and found a 9% overall increased risk of diabetes associated with statins.
- March 2011 — Journal of the American College of Cardiology published a study that found high-dose Lipitor is associated with an increased risk of diabetes.
- June 2011 —Journal of the American Medical Association published a study that associated statins with a 12% increased risk of diabetes — or one extra case for every 500 people who take a statin.
- January 2012 — JAMA Internal Medicine published a study that linked statins and a 50% increased risk of diabetes for post-menopausal women. The study involved nearly 162,000 women between 50 and 79 years old, and found that 10% of women who took statins developed diabetes within 9 years, compared to 6.4% of women who did not take statins.
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