What is Taxotere® prescribed for?
Taxotere, known generically as docetaxel, is a chemotherapy drug approved for the treatment of breast cancer and non-small cell cancer of the lung, stomach, head, neck and prostate.
Taxotere is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis, and is in a class of drugs called taxanes. This drug is administered intravenously with dosage being based on a patient’s heihgt, weight and health istory. The drug generally has higher side effects with a higher dosage.
Sanofi-Aventis promoted Taxotere as being beneficial in the treatment of cancer. However, Sanofi-Aventis failed to the FDA and patients that clinical trials showed that permanent hair loss – called alopecia – was observed in a number of the patients taking Taxotere.
Common Taxotere Side Effects
The most common Taxotere side effects include low white blood cell counts, which can increase the risk for infection, and low red blood cell counts, or anemia. Other side effects include:
- Fluid retention with weight gain, swelling of the ankles or abdominal area
- Peripheral neuropathy, causing numbness in the fingers and toes
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Mouth sores
- Fatigue
- Hair loss, which may be permanent
Taxotere Hair Loss
The claims that Mobile Alabama Taxotere lawyers at Moore Law Firm are looking into are claims involving permanent hair loss during. While, hair loss is common during chemotherapy, upon ceasing treatment the hair generally returns. However, patients who have been administered Taxotere for treatment of cancer, the hair may never regrow even if treatment is ceased. Evidence has existed that Sanofi-Aventis knew as early as the 1990s that Taxotere could cause permanent hair loss based on results of its own clinical trial, called GEICAM 9805, which showed 9.2 percent of study participants treated with a combination of drugs including Taxotere suffered persistent hair loss over a 10-year follow-up period. Despite knowing this risk, Sanofi-Aventis did not warn the public of the risk of permanent hair loss associated with taking Taxotere which is why in 2015, the FDA ordered Sanofi-Aventis to change Taxotere’s label to warn of permanent hair loss.
Taxotere Lawsuit
In October 2016, 33 Taxotere lawsuits from 25 districts were consolidated into a multi-district litigation (MDL) in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Since then, the Taxotere MDL has grown to more than 2,000 cases. The first four bellwether trials are scheduled for 2019, with the first expected to begin in January. If you have taken the drug Taxotere and have suffered permanent hair loss, then please reach out to our Alabama Taxotere Lawsuit attorneys at Moore Law Firm today for a free consultation 251-445-7602.