Takeda Study finds Actos Drug Does Not Increase Risk of Bladder Cancer

Takeda’s diabetes drug Actos, which has caused the company to pay nearly $2.4 billion to settle lawsuits over cancer risks, did not increase the risk of bladder cancer in a large postmarketing study, the drugmaker says.

Results of the 112,674-patient study in Finland, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK were submitted to regulators in the EU, U.S. and Japan after the European Medicines Agency requested it.

The outcome is consistent with last year’s 10-year prospective study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, which also found no increased risk of bladder cancer, Takeda says. — Jonathon Shacat