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news.Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering-Plough have been named in a lawsuit claiming that the companies' antibiotic Tequin causes severe blood-sugar issues in some patients which could lead to diabetes and death.
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The law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro filed the lawsuit on behalf of Springfield, Missouri, resident Patrick Bills who claims that she developed severe hyperglycemia and new onset diabetes while taking Tequin for a skin infection. The complaint states that pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers-Squibb (BMS) knew or should have known that Tequin could cause severe blood sugar problems and diabetes in patients who took the drug.
Tequin and its generic equivalent gatifloxacin was commonly prescribed for sinus, lung, and urinary tract infections, as well as other illnesses. The court action claims that the pharmaceutical company ignored mounting reports of diabetes-related problems until February 2006 when – in conjunction with the FDA – it added a warning to the label that diabetics should not take Tequin. However, the newly added warning label did not include any danger to non-diabetic patients, which the plaintiff was.
The lawsuit, filed in the US Southern District Court in New York, lists nine different counts against Bristol-Meyers Squib and Schering Corporation and seeks compensatory and punitive damages for Bills who was prescribed Tequin without receiving full disclosure of possible side effects.