A large lawsuit against the manufacturer of the statin drug Lipitor, also known as atorvastatin calcium, alleged that the company had purposefully misled the public to believe that it would not increase any patient’s risk of Type 2 Diabetes. The company was claimed to be misrepresenting the incidence of hyperglycemia in the Lipitor trials, and that they had only decided to change its European labeling of Lipitor to warn consumers and doctors of the risk of facilitating Type 2 Diabetes. Other than this one instance, the drug was marketed as a secure and reliable treatment for Cardiovascular Disease, and its labeling information was allegedly not updated in the United States to reflect any threat of diabetes.
Question(s) For Expert Witness
1. What is your understanding of current research pertaining to the ingestion of atorvastatin calcium and the development of type 2 diabetes?
2. Are you able to evaluate the drug for its potential to cause endocrine side effects?
Expert Witness Response E-008970
Research has shown that ingestion of atorvastatin does confer an increased risk of development of type 2 diabetes. As an experienced endocrinologist who focuses on diabetes, I am able to evaluate atorvastatin for its potential to cause endocrine side effects in multiple cases.
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