Diabetes Drug Byetta Linked to Pancreatic and Kidney Injuries, as Well as Death
Byetta (exentadide) is an injectable drug used to control blood sugar levels with diabetes type II patients. It can be used alone or prescribed with other diabetes medications.
In October 2007, the Food and Drug Administration warned that Byetta can cause acute pancreatitis, after linking 30 cases of pancreatitis to Byetta use. A year later, the FDA reported that six new cases of patients requiring hospitalization for pancreatitis, as well as two deaths.
In an FDA alert posted in November 2009, that agency warned healthcare professionals about Byetta users also experiencing “altered kidney functions,” including 62 cases of patients with acute nenal failure (where the kidneys suddenly fail to function) and 16 cases of nenal insufficiency (where kidneys struggle to remove body wastes). Of these cases, over 90 percent required hospitalization, including 18 who needed dialysis and two who required kidney transplants. Four deaths were also reported.
Contact Craig Swapp & Associates immediately if you or a loved one has been prescribed Byetta and experienced:
- Hemorrhagic pancreatitis
- Necrotizing pancreatitis
- Acute nenal (kidney) failure
- Nenal insufficiency
- Death
Byetta was first marketed in 2005 and is manufactured by Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company. Since it was introduced, 8 million prescriptions of Byetta have been filled.
