MASSTORTS
Invokana
®
The Diabetes “Wonder Drug” that Causes Amputations by Tim O’Brien
In May of 2017, the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), issued a Drug Safety Communication for the Type 2 diabetes oral medication, Invokana®: “Based on new data from two large clinical trials, the FDA has concluded that the type 2 diabetes medicine canagliflozin (Invokana, Invokamet, Invokamet XR) causes an increased risk of leg and foot amputations. We are requiring new warnings, including our most prominent Boxed Warning, to be added to the canagliflozin drug labels to describe this risk.” 1 In the warning, the manufacturer of Invokana®, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, for the first time warned the public that the use of Invokana® could result in toe, foot, or even leg amputation. The addition of the amputation warning to the 30 | January/February 2018 | www.FloridaJusticeAssociation.org
Invokana® prescriber label adds another and perhaps most significant risk for patients and doctors to be worried about when prescribing or using Invokana® for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. With Invokana® patients already burdened with the risk of acute kidney failure and a potentially fatal condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis, the addition of the amputation warning shows that Invokana® is a true “wonder drug”: i.e., one wonders why this drug is still on the market when medical evidence shows that it actually causes three of the major side effects of Type 2 diabetes that these medications should aim to prevent.