Another Benicar lawsuit has been filed against Daiichi Sankyo Inc. and Forest Laboratories Inc. concerning the allegedly painful side effects of their popular blood pressure medication Benicar.

In mid-January, plaintiff Frances S. filed this Benicar lawsuit in Illinois federal court, claiming that she suffered from severe gastrointestinal complications (GI complications) from her use of the hypertension drug.

Frances began taking Benicar in 2004 as prescribed by her primary care physician and continued to take the hypertension medication until she allegedly experienced severe intestinal problems, including sprue-like enteropathy, a commonly reported Benicar side effect.

According to the Benicar lawsuit, Frances claims:

“All Defendants [Daiichi and Forest] and each of them, acted together in concert or aided and abetted each other and conspired to engage in the common course of misconduct alleged herein for the purpose of reaping substantial monetary profits from the sale of the olmesartan medoxomil [Benicar] products and for the purpose of enriching themselves financially to the serious detriment of Plaintiff’s health and well-being.”

Frances brings several allegations against Daiichi and Forest Labs in this Benicar lawsuit, including: defective design, failure to warn, strict liability, gross negligence, negligence and failure to warn, failure to comply with all federal standards and requirements applicable to the sale of olmesartan products, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, constructive fraud, fraud, civil conspiracy, breach of express warranties, breach of implied warranties, and violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

The plaintiff is seeking relief from the defending pharmaceutical companies in the form of compensatory, treble, and punitive damages, cost of attorney’s fees, and any other forms of relief deemed fit by the Illinois federal court and jury.

Benicar Side Effects and GI Complications

Benicar (or olmesartan) is a angiotensin II receptor antagonist drug designed, manufactured, and sold by Daiichi Sankyo and co-promoted by Forest Laboratories. Since gaining U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2002, Benicar has been prescribed to over 11 million patients suffering from hypertension every year in the United States.

According to the Benicar lawsuit, Frances alleges that her use of Benicar led to her development of “personal injuries, including but not limited to severe intestinal and/or colonic disease manifestations including but not limited to sprue-like enteropathy, lymphocytic colitis, microscopic colitis, collagenous colitis, and/or intestinal malabsorption,” all serious, painful, and debilitating gastrointestinal problems.

Frances is not the only Benicar consumer to experience these kinds of Benicar complications, according to recent news reports and Benicar lawsuits. Some common side effects of Benicar include:

• Chronic diarrhea
• Sudden and severe weight loss
• Electrolyte imbalance
• Sprue-like enteropathy
• Villous atrophy
• Other GI problems regularly misdiagnosed as celiac symptoms

The product warning labels and marketing for Benicar only warn consumers of the possibility of kidney failure when taking blood pressure medication. These drug label warnings do not mention the various GI problems, including sprue-like enteropathy, allegedly experienced by Frances and other Benicar users.

Additionally, in July 2013, “the FDA issued a 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.” Daiichi and Forest have allegedly not changed the Benicar drug label to reflect this FDA mandate for the sale of olmesartan drugs like Benicar.

Benicar users who were prescribed and consumed the Daiichi blood pressure medication for at least four months and were later hospitalized for Benicar side effects like severe gastrointestinal problems may qualify to file or join a Benicar class action lawsuit.

The Benicar Lawsuit is Case No. 3:15-cv-00041-MJR-PMF, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.