A new blood thinning medication will soon be introduced to the U.S. pharmaceutical market. Daiichi Sankyo’s drug Savaysa will allegedly share many similarities with other familiar anticoagulants such as Eliquis. However, this may mean that Savaysa may possibly share negative Eliquis side effects, such as internal bleeding, as well the potential anticoagulant benefits. Savaysa will, however, contain a black box warning that may set it apart from other drugs in its class.

Savaysa had been used across the world for several years under the name Lixiana. When finally granting federal approval as an anticoagulant treatment, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated that a black box warning be added to the label that warned against Savaysa use on patients with high functioning kidneys. A black box warning is the strongest possible warning the FDA can give.

The FDA stated that patients with high functioning kidneys, “have an increased risk of stroke compared to similar patients given warfarin. Savaysa should not be used in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients with a higher creatinine clearance. Another anticoagulant should be used instead.” The FDA’s black box warning caveat to Savaysa’s approval may have been influenced by reports of its cousin drug Eliquis causing severe uncontrollable bleeding events. 

Since January, Savaysa has been FDA approved for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and other blood clot conditions. 

Blood Thinning Medication Internal Bleeding Side Effects

Savaysa will be the fourth medication included in a new line of anticoagulants called Factor Xa. Previously released Factor XA drugs, which include Xarelto, Pradaxa, and Eliquis, each claimed to be effective blood thinning medications that did not require as much monitoring as warfarin, the previous leader in anticoagulant medication.

The danger from Eliquis and other Factor Xa drugs comes back to creatinine levels. If a kidney is at a low creatinine clearance level, internal bleeding may follow due to a build up of the medication in the body.

However, numerous patients have reportedly experienced severe internal bleeding side effects as a result of Eliquis and other Factor Xa drugs. While internal bleeding was sometimes a warfarin side effect, warfarin had an antidote that doctors could administer to counteract the problem. Eliquis and other Factor Xa drugs have no such antidote, making them potentially deadly medications. Many internal bleeding drug side effect lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturers of Factor Xa drugs.

It is currently unknown if Savaysa will join the multiple Eliquis side effect lawsuits. As it appears that Savaysa is not more effective than warfarin in patients with healthy kidneys, the risk of internal bleeding may be smaller. Daiichi Sankyo claimed that Savaysa had a 19 percent reduction of internal bleeding risks compared to warfarin.

Unfortunately, there is always some risk that a blood thinning medication will cause internal bleeding side effects. However, the lack of an antidote may put patients at an unreasonable risk of severe negative internal bleeding side effects.

Eliquis lawsuits have listed internal bleeding problems with the brain, intestine, kidney, and other body parts. Some patients have died due to internal bleeding. Because of these alleged Eliquis side effects, many patients choose to file an Eliquis lawsuit or join an Eliquis class action lawsuit in the future against the anticoagulant manufacturer.