Drug giants Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals have been hit with a lawsuit alleging they concealed their knowledge from the public and medical community that the blood thinner Xarelto can cause life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding

An Alabama resident has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and the co-marketer of the blood thinner Xarelto) and Bayer Healthcare AG.

Plaintiff Willie James J. claims these companies failed to adequately warn about the lack of a Xarelto antidote to reverse uncontrolled bleeding caused by Xarelto.

According to the Xarelto lawsuit, Willie James ingested the blood thinner Xarelto beginning July 23 2015 until March 10, 2016 when he reportedly suffered gastrointestinal bleeding.

The 50-page complaint states that Willie James suffered “various injuries, serious physical pain and suffering, medical, hospital and surgical expenses” as a direct result of his use of the blood thinner Xarelto.

Willie James further claims the drug should not be sold and that Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceutical failed to provide warnings or other information that accurately reflected the symptoms, scope, and severity of Xarelto side effects and Xarelto bleeding risks.

His lawsuit is included in the Xarelto multidistrict litigation (MDL) currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

About the Blood Thinner Xarelto

Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is one of the latest generation of anticoagulant drugs, designed to treat patients at risk of deep vein thrombosis (the formation of blood clots deep under the skin surface).

The blood thinner Xarelto, along with two similar medications (Pradaxa and Eliquis), was intended to replace warfarin, a a blood thinner medication that has been the standard treatment for this condition since the early 1950s.

The purported advantage of the blood thinner Xarelto and similar medications is a reduced need for patient monitoring; these prescriptions have far fewer drug and food interactions than warfarin, though the cost per dose to the patient is substantially higher.

Xarelto Bleeding Issues

The most serious problem associated with the blood thinner Xarelto and similar medications is fatal hemorrhaging. When a patient on the medication starts bleeding from even a minor injury (including a bump on the head), there is virtually no way to stop it.

The reason for this lies in the drug’s mechanism of action. Blood coagulation is dependent on the action of Vitamin K (naturally occurring in leafy greens and vegetables) in order to produce the clotting agent, thrombin.

Warfarin disables Vitamin K, so any serious bleeding can be halted with high dosages of this vitamin. Xarelto prevents the production of Vitamin K altogether; therefore, once a patient starts suffering from Xarelto bleeding, there is virtually no way to stop it.

Xarelto Injury Lawsuits

The Xarelto lawsuit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages arising from ingestion of Xarelto as well as the defendants’ disregard in misleading the medical community and consumers in favor of increasing sales. The filed complaint indicates a demand for a jury trial for this case.

The Xarelto MDL is In re: Xarelto® (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.