A fairly new diabetes medication has now been linked to the wrongful deaths and hospitalization of some patients. Byetta, a diabetes medication that was approved to control blood sugar in 2005, has been shown to cause some serious drug side effects.

According to Eli Lily & Company and Amylin, the two companies that market the drug, the benefits of the diabetes drug still out weight the risk. According to a spokesperson from Lily, Byetta has been known to be associated with pancreatitis since 2006, and a warning has been placed on the prescribing information since 2007.

As of now, the association between pancreatitis and Byetta is still not well established, and scientists are looking to see how and if Byetta triggers pancreatitis in certain individuals. One of the reasons doctors are unsure if Byetta is a dangerous drug or not is because the people who take it are already more at risk for developing pancreatitis.

The pancreas is one of the organs in the body that creates insulin and helps digest sugar. Byetta is designed to help people process sugar and increase insulin in the blood stream, which is why it is suspected of causing pancreatitis as a dangerous side effect. People suffering from type 2 diabetes are already about three times more at risk for suffering from pancreatitis than other people.

If you or someone in your family has suffered from pancreatitis or even a wrongful death after taking Byetta, you may be able to recover compensation. Please contact the personal injury attorney at Robert W. Kerpsack Co., L.P.A. in Columbus, Ohio today to schedule your initial case evaluation.