Have you or a family member suffered from permanent hair loss after chemotherapy treatment? Taxotere, a chemotherapy drug commonly used in breast cancer treatment, has been found to cause long term and permanent hair loss. Taxotere hair loss may be complete or may be characterized by areas of patchy or clumpy hair. Any person who has suffered from permanent Taxotere hair loss may be entitled to damages through filing a Taxotere hair lawsuit.
At the time of your chemotherapy treatment, the medical community and the general public had not been warned about the risk of permanent Taxotere hair loss. You may have been told that Taxotere was a standard treatment for breast cancer or another kind of cancer. Perhaps your doctor offered Taxotere for its convenience factor – chemotherapy treatments were less frequent than with comparable drugs. You may have even been told that Taxotere was more effective than other chemotherapy drugs. In any case, you did not know you were accepting permanent hair loss as a possible outcome of Taxotere treatment.
Taxotere did become a standard treatment for breast cancer, and many doctors were led to believe it was more effective than other drugs. However, the American public is now learning Taxotere’s rise to prominence was based on deception and lies.
In 2009, and FDA Taxotere warning letter was sent to Sanofi officials, telling the company to stop its use of unproven claims. The letter address marketing campaigns describing the “super efficacy” of Taxotere. In fact, no research had ever show Taxotere to be more effective than other chemotherapy treatments.
In fact, a study showed paclitaxel, another breast cancer treatment, to be safer, less toxic, and more effective than Taxotere. The study, “Weekly Paclitaxel in the Adjuvant Treatment of Breast Cancer”, was published in 2008, prompting the FDA Taxotere warning letter in 2009. Making claims that are not backed by science is a violation of federal regulations, and is known as misbranding.
Taxotere did indeed become a standard drug used to treat breast cancer, but clearly not because it was better than other drugs on the market. According to a Taxotere lawsuit filed by a former Sanofi employee, the drug rose to prominence because doctors were paid and rewarded for using it. According to the Taxotere lawsuit, Sanofi launched an illegal campaign in 1996 to promote the off-label uses of the drug. Physicians were reportedly given grants, paid speakers fees, and rewarded with travel and sports tickets in exchange for favoring and promoting Taxotere.
All the while, Sanofi was funding a study to better understand the side effects and outcomes of Taxotere. In 2005, the study (known as the GEICAM 9805 study) produced disturbing results: Taxotere hair loss was not a temporary condition; as many as 9.2% of patients suffered from permanent Taxotere hair loss in the decade following cancer treatment. When hair loss is perceived as a temporary side effect, it is viewed as a distressing but “worth it” suffering if the drug reaches the desired treatment outcomes. But to be exposed to a risk for permanent hair loss, without knowledge of the risk, is inhumane. Permanent hair loss makes a distressing side effect into a lifelong, depression-inducing condition. Patients should have been given the opportunity to make an informed choice about Taxotere hair loss. (Consumers on Canada and Europe were given this information. Inexplicably, American consumers were left in the dark.)
These Taxotere lawyers represent all persons involved in a Taxotere lawsuit on a contingency basis, meaning you will never pay legal fees unless we win for you. The Taxotere lawyers have a strong record of success in major pharmaceutical litigation — in 2016, these attorneys won over $200 million in damages in just three talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson. Our expertise lies in the realm of product liability litigation, holding corporations accountable for the damage and suffering resulting from dangerous and defective products.
For more information, visit our Taxotere Hair Lawsuit website.
