Taxotere Lawsuit Lawyer

Taxotere in Europe and Canada contained warnings of permanent hair loss as early as 2005 and 2012 respectively. Why it took so long for the FDA & manufacturers to warn users remains a mystery, particularly when there is a more effective, American-made product, Taxol that is at least as effective if not more effective than Taxotere at treating cancer. In attempting to compete with Taxol, which is manufactured by American-based Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi Aventis created Taxotere which is a semi-synthetic analogue of Taxol with twice the potency. Although Taxotere has double the strength of Taxol , the effectiveness remains similar while exposing patients to increased toxicity. This increased toxicity is the primary cause of permanent baldness seen using Taxotere over comparable treatments.

Many patients taking Taxotere were told that their hair loss would only be temporary, when in fact it appears to be permanent in certain cases. Patients were not adequately warned about this severe side effect. It is believed that the manufacturers had knowledge of this risk of permanent hair loss but failed to disclose it. This failure to adequately warn patients deprived them of their ability to choose alternative chemotherapy drugs such as Taxol that are arguably more effective without the risk of permanent hair loss.Had the France-based Sanofi Aventis honestly described its side effects, most women would probably have elected to use the American-made product that is just as effective without the permanent hair loss.