An Illinois woman has filed a Prilosec OTC lawsuit against AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Proctor & Gamble for allegedly failing to warn against long term kidney complications.

The Prilosec OTC lawsuit alleges the companies either knew or should have known the potential side effects of their medication, but failed to disclose this information to the public.

Plaintiff Eileen S. filed this Prilosec OTC lawsuit after discovering numerous other patients had developed long term kidney damage. As a result of taking the medication, Eileen allegedly developed chronic kidney failure and chronic kidney disease.

Eileen still contends with these conditions and opted to file legal action after discovering the link to kidney problems.

According to the Prilosec OTC lawsuit, Eileen used the medication on a number of occasions since 2008 to treat her peptic disorder. Eileen reportedly used Prilosec OTC until 2013, and was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and chronic kidney disease on Dec. 14, 2015.

Eileen reportedly discovered the association between Prilosec OTC and chronic kidney problems in May 2016 which spurred her to file this Prilosec OTC lawsuit. She is raising claims for negligence and failure to warn.

Overview of Prilosec OTC Kidney Problems

Prilosec OTC is an over-the-counter variant of Prilosec sold on the market and is a part of the very popular proton pump inhibitor (PPI) medication class. Along with its other prominent member Nexium, PPIs are prescribed and sold to millions of patients across the United States.

Prilosec OTC is primarily used to treat ulcers, acid reflux and similar conditions, with its treatment method limiting the amount of gastric acid secreted from the stomach lining.

However, Prilosec and its variants have been linked to serious kidney damage, with some patients suffering complete kidney failure. In these cases, the patient may lose a kidney and will most likely not have a replacement available.

Kidney failure and chronic kidney disease have been linked to proton pump inhibitors by several studies that report a correlation between them.

One study was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology which compared PPI patients and H2 receptor blocker patients. According to the results of the study, PPI patients faced a 96% increased risk of kidney failure and a 28% increased risk of chronic kidney disease compared to the control group.

Another study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in February 2016 which also showed an increased risk of chronic kidney disease in conjunction with PPIs. This study showed PPI drugs may result in interstitial nephritis which often leads to kidney failure.

In late 2014, the FDA issued a label change for Nexium to include acute interstitial nephritis. Even though AstraZeneca and Proctor & Gamble were aware of the studies and increased risk, plaintiffs like Eileen claim the company failed to warn patients against this.

Eileen’s Prilosec OTC Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-12577-CCC-MF, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.