Brisbane man joins group action against diabetes drug manufacturer
A Brisbane man has become the first Australian to join a group action against the manufacturers of a common diabetes drug.
Peter Marshall thought he had won the battle with high blood sugar levels after he was prescribed diabetes tablets to take as a life-long treatment.
However two years into his medication, the 69-year-old developed a bladder tumour.
Mr Marshall went looking for answers and found a correlation between the diabetes medication and bladder cancer.
"I clicked on a couple of things...and it just opened up a Pandora’s Box that the two were related," Mr Marshall said.
A study commissioned by manufacturer Takeda found that those using ‘Actos’ medication for more than 12 months have a 40 per cent increased risk of bladder cancer.
It's alleged those results were deliberately concealed.
Damian Scattini, a lawyer for Maurice Blackburn, believes many people would avoid the drug if they were made aware of the risks.
"It's diabolical. And would you take that drug in those circumstances? Well, probably many people would not," Mr Scattini said.
Peter Marshall is the only Australian to join the three-thousand-strong group action so far. He's now calling for other Actos users to come forward.
Registration for the group action is open until the 7th of June.
For more details:
bladdercancer@mauriceblackburn.com.au
1800 247 771
