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The lawsuit involving Benicar states the manufacturer failed to warn users of the increased risk of the gastrointestinal disease known as sprue-like enteropathy. Plaintiffs attorneys claim the manufacturers knew of the link, but made the decision not to warn doctors or patients.
Benicar is a blood pressure medication that blocks certain receptors, known as angiotensin receptors. Angiotensin II is a hormone that causes the blood vessels to constrict. By inhibiting the action of this hormone (as well as reducing the secretion and production of other hormones involved in regulating blood pressure), blood vessels become dilated.
Drugs of this class generate approximately $7 billion in revenue for the manufacturers. There are a number of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) on the market, but only Benicar has been implicated in the development of the intestinal disorder known as sprue-like enteropathy. Often misdiagnosed as celiac disease, sprue-like enteropathy prevents the intestinal system from properly absorbing nutrients from food. In essence, a patient who is not treated for this condition literally starves to death. The primary use of Benicar is to help control blood pressure
A recent Mayo Clinic study, conducted by Dr. Josephy Murray, has linked the development of sprue-like enteropathy to the use of Benicar. Sprue-like enteropathy is a disease that produces severe gastrointestinal symptoms; such as chronic diarrhea, significant weight loss, nausea, and overall malnutrition.
Dr. Murray conducted the study on 22 patients who were using Benicar and experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms, initially diagnosed as Celiac disease. However, the patients in the study were not responding to a gluten-free diet, a common form of treatment for Celiac disease, and did not have detectable tissue transglutaminase in their blood, which is used to positively diagnose Celiac disease.
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Upon discontinuation of Benicar, all 22 patients experienced relief from the gastrointestinal symptoms as well as weight gain. Dr. Murray concluded that the Benicar being taken by the patients was directly linked to the gastrointestinal symptoms the patients were experiencing. Dr. Murray’s study and findings on the link between Benicar use and sprue-like enteropathy was recently published online in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and began the process of Benicar lawyers filing Benicar Lawsuits.
In medical terms, Benicar may trigger an immune response. When receptors are blocked from responding to angiotensin II, this hormone continues to travel in the bloodstream. This, in turn, may induce the gene expression (a process by which genetic information is “released” and transformed into a protein, hormone or other biochemical) of “transformation growth factor” (TGF). This is a protein that can cause cellular mutation (one strain of this is implicated in the development of tumors). The increase in TGF may be responsible for the cellular damage in the intestinal tract leading to the symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy that Benicar patients suffer.
As of this time, there have been no large group settlements involving Benicar. Litigation likes this takes many years to resolve, with teams of lawyers spending millions of dollars trying to determine exactly what occurred, and how it could have been prevented. Generally, large groups of settlements do not occur until such time as a few cases are tried before a jury, and the manufacturer is able to more thoroughly understand its financial risk. This in no way means you can wait to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit. Just the opposite, if you wait, you could permanently lose all of your rights, even if a settlement occurs in the future. This is because every state has time limitations in which you can file a lawsuit for any injuries that you have sustained or could sustain resulting from Benicar.
FDA approves label changes to include intestinal problems (sprue-like enteropathy) linked to blood pressure medicine olmesartan medoxomil: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that the blood pressure drug olmesartan medoxomil (marketed as Benicar, Benicar HCT, Azor, Tribenzor, and generics) can cause intestinal problems known as sprue-like enteropathy. FDA has approved changes to the labels of these drugs to include this concern. To read more, click FDA Drug Safety Communication
As of this time, a recall of Benicar related to sprue-like enteropathy has not occurred. However, there has been an FDA recommended label change detailing the relationship between Benicar and sprue-like enteropathy.
No recall, but new label warning of relationship between Benicar and sprue-like enteropathy
Benicar Lawsuit News – Plaintiffs Attorneys Appointed
During a lull in the amount of product liability litigation in the country, two companies have the dubious honor of being the target of a growing number of lawsuits. Benicar maker Daiichi-Sankyo is one of them. According to statistics from the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), the number of cases in recently-created MDLs for the Japanese-based drugmaker rose significantly between mid-April and mid-May of 2015. To read more, click Levin Law News
Benicar Lawsuit Plaintiff Lobbies for Ohio State Consolidation
All she wants for Christmas is justice served. Of course, Benicar side effects plaintiff Annette M. Johnson will have to wait, probably, a few Christmas seasons before she and other plaintiffs are in a position to unwrap their gift of compensation for Benicar illness and weight loss. Nonetheless, the process has begun, commencing with the filing of a Benicar defective products lawsuit in Ohio Northern District Court on December 5 (Johnson v. Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. et al, Case No. 3:2014cv02672, Ohio Northern District Court). The plaintiff is lobbying to have her lawsuit consolidated with others in Ohio State. To read more, click Lawyers and Settlements
Benicar Side Effects More Than Just a Pain in the Gut
The overall tally of Benicar lawsuits continues to creep slowly higher with the filing in late summer of a wrongful death lawsuit in New Jersey. The drug (olmesartan) is indicated to treat high blood pressure, a common malady amongst the American population. To read more, click Lawyers and Settlements
Illinois Couple Files Benicar Lawsuit
A Pawnee, Illinois couple has filed a Benicar diarrhea lawsuit, after the female plaintiff became severely ill as result of ingesting the blood pressure medication. Deborah Dirksen and her husband, Richard, allege the drug makers knew or should have known about the risk of enteropathy faced by patients taking Benicar, but failed to share this information with the public. To read more, click Injury-Lawyer News
Popular High Blood Pressure Drug Could Be Tip of the Litigation Iceberg
If there is one certainty about the pharmaceutical industry, it is that Big Pharma is never boring. And at the risk of appearing insensitive about the alleged harms from prescription medications suffered by innocent patients, the fact remains that Americans are hearing about an increasing number of long-approved drugs having seemingly new and unforeseen side effects that negatively impact a patient. Such is the case with Benicar, a drug indicated for hypertension and the lowering of high blood pressure. And to be sure, we are starting to see headlines that scream. To read more, click Lawyers and Settlements
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