The federal judge presiding over all Benicar lawsuits recently consolidated them into a national Benicar multidistrict litigation (MDL) and scheduled a status conference for all Benicar lawsuits currently filed in a federal court to take place Wednesday.

In early April, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (also known as the JPML) centralized all Benicar lawsuits alleging gastrointestinal side effects under U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler in a New Jersey federal court.

The purpose of this Benicar MDL is to coordinate pretrial discovery, avoid conflicting rulings, as well as to make the litigation process more convenient for plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses involved in the numerous Benicar lawsuits.

The Benicar gastrointestinal complications MDL reportedly includes at least 35 Benicar lawsuits pending in about 23 federal courts across the nation. These Benicar lawsuits similarly claim that the olmesartan blood pressure medication caused them to experience some Benicar side effects, including chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and a gastrointestinal complication called sprue-like enteropathy.

According to the Benicar MDL case management order, Judge Kugler has ordered the status conference to take place this week, which will act as the first meeting between all the lawyers and legal representatives involved in the various Benicar gastrointestinal side effects lawsuits pending in federal court.

Additionally, during this status conference, the organization of the Benicar MDL will be discussed, which will include the court appointing numerous lawyers to serve in leadership positions for this litigation.

Summaries of the current status of Benicar lawsuit discovery process and whether or not any progress or agreements have been made between the plaintiffs and defendant before the establishment of the Benicar MDL would have been discussed at this time.

Consumers who suspect that they also may have been victims of Benicar side effects can still file their Benicar lawsuits in federal court, where they will likely be transferred to the Benicar MDL.

The Benicar MDL is In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Benicar Side Effects

Benicar (or olmesartan) is a blood pressure medication designed and manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo and co-promoted by Forest Laboratories. Since its 2002 FDA approval, Benicar has been prescribed to over 11 million people per year across the nation.

According to various Benicar lawsuits, including those Benicar gastrointestinal side effects lawsuits consolidated in the Benicar MDL, the drug’s product warning label only alerts consumers of the possibility of kidney failure when taking the hypertension treatment. However, it fails to mention the various GI problems, including sprue-like enteropathy, allegedly experienced by Benicar uses.

In light of the subsequent Benicar adverse event reports, the FDA issued a July 2013 Drug Safety Communication, “warning that the blood pressure drug olmesartan medoxomil, marketed as Benicar, Benicar HCT, Azor, and Tribenzor, can cause intestinal problems known as sprue-like enteropathy,” according to the numerous Benicar lawsuits.

Benicar users who took Benicar for at least four months and were later hospitalized for Benicar side effects, including severe gastrointestinal problems, may qualify to file or join a Benicar class action lawsuit or file their Benicar lawsuit against Daiichi Sankyo.