Have people died after taking Byetta?

In August 2008, the FDA said it had received word of six cases of Byetta users developing pancreatitis, including two in which the patient died. The others recovered after hospitalization.

In November 2009, the FDA reported 78 cases of renal (kidney) failure among Byetta patients, and Health Magazine reported in 2011 that two of these patients died. Eighteen cases required dialysis, and two had kidney transplants.

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine study released in 2013 suggested that the 100 percent increase in the risk of pancreatitis among Byetta users was based on pancreatic tissue specimens taken from patients after they died from unspecified causes.