Karina Basso  |  September 2, 2015

Category: Legal News

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Xarelto Side Effects Class Action Lawsuit InvestigationResearchers have published two new studies regarding the controversial anticoagulant medication Xarelto, raising more concerns about the uncontrollable bleeding side effects associated with the blood thinner.

Both of these recent Xarelto studies link the drug, manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, with bleeding side effects that can lead to fatal consequences for patients.

Background on Xarelto

In 2011, the FDA approved Xarelto as a blood clot treatment for patients who had recently undergone knee or hip replacement surgery. Later on, the agency approved the blood thinning medication as way to reduce the risk of stroke for individuals diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, as well as to treat other conditions like pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis.

However, after just one year on the market, Xarelto was implicated in several adverse event reports that claimed patients suffered from various Xarelto injuries, including internal bleeding, blood clots, and pulmonary embolisms.

There are currently hundreds of Xarelto injury lawsuits pending in state and federal courts across the United States.

New Xarelto Studies Support Injury Reports

The first Xarelto study reports that three patients developed “spontaneous vitreous hemorrhage,” an eye bleeding condition that causes bleeding between the lens and the retina, soon after starting a Xarelto prescription.

According to Doctors Judy H. Hun and John C. Hwang, the authors of this Xarelto study, the Janssen anticoagulant is “increasingly prescribed as a replacement for warfarin sodium in the management of atrial fibrillation.” However, it seems that Xarelto may be associated with an increased risk of eye bleeding. This risk may be even higher for individuals switching from a different anticoagulant to Xarelto.

The second blood thinner study compared the “real world safety” of Xarelto and another popular anticoagulant, Pradaxa, to Warfarin, an older blood thinner. This study gathered and examined data from Oct. 1, 2010 through March 31, 2012, provided by a large administrative database housing information for commercially insured U.S. individuals.

The adult participants in this Xarelto study filled a drug prescription for either Xarelto, Pradaxa, or Warfarin during the study period. Of the 46,000 participants, 39,607 used Warfarin (Coumadin), 4,907 used Pradaxa, and 1,649 used Xarelto. Researchers found that all three drugs had a similar risk of gastrointestinal bleeding; however, the researchers cautioned that “we cannot rule out as much as a 50% increase in the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding with dabigatran (Pradaxa) compared with warfarin or a more than twofold higher risk of bleeding with rivaroxaban (Xarelto) compared with warfarin.”

Additional Xarelto Studies

Other Xarelto studies are particularly concerned with bleeding risks in certain patient populations. A 2015 Xarelto study examined Japanese patients and found that 29 of the 46 participants who filled a Xarelto prescription were at a higher risk of bleeding side effects. A second 2015 study suggested patients over the age of 75 were at a higher risk of bleeding when taking Xarelto.

The researchers of these Xarelto studies concluded that patients in these vulnerable groups should undergo regular blood monitoring when taking the blood thinner.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The Xarelto attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or Xarelto class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Xarelto lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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If you or a loved one took Xarelto (rivaroxaban) and suffered injuries such as uncontrollable internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, hemorrhaging, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, you may have a legal claim. See if you qualify by filling out the short form below.

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