With Pradaxa and Xarelto lawsuits on the rise, drug manufacturers Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson just suffered another public relations blow with a new report from the healthcare information company AdverseEvents. The company compared adverse events linked to three new blood thinner drugs on the market today, finding Pradaxa and Xarelto fell far behind Eliquis in terms of safety.

Eliquis (apixaban) is jointly manufactured by Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), and approved for the prevention of strokes among patients with atrial fibrillation. It was introduced in 2012, as the third member of a new generation of blood thinners known as direct thrombin inhibitors.

Eliquis Findings Disputed by Drug Manufacturers

Pradaxa and Xarelto manufacturers, Boehringer Ingelheim and Johnson & Johnson, are both disputing the report’s findings, stating the comparison of adverse events involving the three drugs is unfair, unscientific and unreliable. The manufacturing giants pointed out that their drugs have been prescribed to many more patients than Eliquis, due to their time on the market and their various uses. Since it was approved in 2010, Pradaxa has been prescribed to more than eight million patients, while Xarelto has seen more than 5.4 million prescriptions.

In contrast, newcomer Eliquis has been prescribed just 435,000 times, which could explain the smaller number of adverse events associated with the drug. All three of these anticoagulants have been touted as a safer, more convenient alternative to the older blood-thinning drug warfarin, sold under the commercial name Coumadin. The drugs were first approved to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Unlike Coumadin, new anticoagulants can be prescribed without special dietary restrictions and the need for ongoing medical monitoring.

Unfortunately, these three newer drugs also have a significant difference from warfarin that could be contributing to concerns over the number of adverse events reports. Patients who experience internal bleeding while on Coumadin, either from injury or surgery, may receive doses of vitamin K to reverse the blood-thinning effect of the drug and promote clotting.

Pradaxa, Xarelto and Eliquis have no such antidote at this time, making it difficult for doctors to control bleeding in some patients. Dozens of Xarelto lawsuits and now Eliquis lawsuits accuse drug makers of failing to warn users or the medical community that no bleeding antidote exists. Close to 4,000 Pradaxa lawsuits have been settled, awarding plaintiffs more than $160,000 each for their bleeding injuries.

No Antidote for Bleeding Events

Eliquis, warfarin and other anticoagulants assist patients by thinning their blood. While the drugs greatly reduce the likelihood of blood clot formation, as well as the risk of experiencing a life-threatening stroke, they are also responsible for unexpected or prolonged bleeding in some patients.

Doctors have several ways to correct excessive bleeding events for patients taking warfarin, but there is no known antidote for Eliquis, Pradaxa or Xarelto. An antidote for Eliquis may be on the horizon, as Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer are cooperating with Portola Pharmaceuticals to work on a way to stop life-threatening bleeding events.

Blood Thinner Lawsuits

A growing number of blood thinner lawsuits are now being pursued against the drug manufacturers of Xarelto, Pradaxa, and Eliquis. Plaintiffs claim that the benefits provided by the medications do not justify the risks of uncontrollable bleeding, indicating that the drug makers should issue recalls for both Xarelto and Pradaxa until a reversal agent can be developed.