Patients Could Have Benefited From Gleevec's Generic Alternative

Not only does Tasigna ruin a person's health, it costs ten times more than Gleevec's generic competition

Tuesday, August 21, 2018 - Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a deadly form of cancer that can be diagnosed when a patient's blood tests reveal an excess amount of disease-fighting white blood cells. White blood cells manufactured in the bone marrow are ineffective and an indication that a chromosomal mutation may have taken place. There about 5000 new cases of CML every year, occurring mostly in the elderly. CML patients first suspect something might be wrong when they exhibit tiredness, a loss of appetite, and excessive and easy bruising.

Miracle drug Gleevec was first brought to market in 2001 and quickly earned the reputation for being extremely effective in treating Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), returning a patient white blood cell count to normal, and putting the disease into remission. Gleevec patients experienced a five-year survival rate of close to 90%. Gleevec's side effects were thought of as routine and not at all unlike other anti-cancer chemotherapy drugs and included diarrhea, nausea, muscle pain, fatigue, and skin rashes.

Gleevec success and the resultant skyrocketing sales accounted for a large portion of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG's income. Since its inception in 2001, sales of Gleevec reached almost $5 billion by 2015. Unfortunately for Novartis, Gleevec's patent was set to expire in the coming year and the company faced financial devastation from generic competition, those companies offering the exact same drug but at 1/10th of the cost. Novartis' solution to losing Gleevec market share and maximizing company profits was to develop and introduce Tasigna as a replacement drug. Eager to replicate Gleevec's success Novartis rushed Tasigna to market by using illegal and unethical marketing schemes and without warning pharmacists that Tasigna carried additional, life-threatening side effects. Shortly after unknowingly being switched from Gleevec, Tasigna patients immediately started developing atherosclerosis and peripheral artery disease, the narrowing, and hardening of the arteries leading to the extremities, brain, and heart.

Novartis' illegal marketing scheme was brought to the attention of the DOJ by the former employee turned whistleblower David Kester using the False Claims Act. For his help in uncovering Novartis' fraud, Kessler earned $12 million, his share of the $390 million settlement of the Department of Justice lawsuit. Also fined along with Novartis were specialty pharmacies Bioscript, and Acredo Health having refilled prescriptions with certain drugs over others such as refilling Gleevec prescriptions with Tasigna. Novartis illegally incentivized specialty pharmacists were to refill Gleevec prescriptions with Tasigna without telling the patient. For their fraud and negligence, Novartis was fined $1 billion by the US Department of Justice of which the company settled by paying $390 million. Most of the $390 went to reimburse Medicaid and Medicare, two taxpayer-funded agencies defrauded by Novartis. Patients taking Tasigna and developing an abnormal heart rhythm or atherosclerosis may consider speaking with a

Tasigna lawyer to see if they qualify to file a claim against Novartis for failing to warn them of the risks thereby denying their right to make an informed decision as to which anti-cancer treatment was best for them. By choosing a generic Gleevec alternative, not only would the patient have saved a lot of money, but their cancer treatment would have been more effective and the additional risks could have been avoided.

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Lawyers for Tasigna Atherosclerosis Lawsuits

Attorneys handling Tasigna lawsuits for leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma offer free, no-obligation case review for individuals and families who believe they may have grounds to file a Tasigna lawsuit. Working on a contingency basis, these attorneys are committed to never charging legal fees unless they win compensation in your Tasigna lawsuit. The product liability litigators handling Roundup claims at the Onder Law Firm have a strong track record of success in representing families harmed by dangerous drugs and consumer products.