N.C. Woman Says Makers of Chemotherapy Drug Taxotere Failed to Warn of Permanent Hair Loss

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina woman has accused the makers of breast cancer drug Taxotere of failing to adequately warn doctors and patients that it can cause permanent disfiguring hair loss and of misrepresenting the drug’s safety and effectiveness.

The May 23 complaint filed against Sanofi S.A., Aventis Pharma S.A., and Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, says the drug makers knew or should have known that the rate of permanent hair loss (alopecia) related to Taxotere was far greater than with other products available to treat the same condition.