Actos Defective Drug Attorneys in Chicago, Illinois. In 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Actos (pioglitazone hydrochloride) to treat people with Type 2 diabetes control their glycemic levels. Since then Actos, manufactured by Takeda , rose to become the most popular oral drug prescribed to treat Type 2 diabetes. According to the FDA about 2.3 million people filled prescriptions for Actos at outpatient retail pharmacies from January through October 2010, making it Takeda’s largest selling drug.

However, in June 2011, the French Medicine Agency ordered that the sale of the drug in France be suspended due to an increased risk of bladder cancer in patients taking the drug for longer periods. Similarly, in June 2011, the United States Food and Drug Administration informed the public that the use of Actos for more than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer.