AstraZeneca is facing a Nexium renal failure lawsuit from a patient alleging the company ignored the dangerous side effects of their medications.

The claim alleges that AstraZeneca either knew or should have known of the dangers of potential Nexium renal, or kidney, failure and that the company aggressively marketed the product despite this.

In addition, the Nexium renal failure lawsuit claims the company either ignored or withheld relevant information from the medical community regarding the alleged link between kidney damage and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).

As a prominent member of this medication class, Nexium is often used to reduce or soothe symptoms of heartburn by reducing the production of gastric acid. The Nexium renal failure lawsuit was filed by James M. on Dec. 30, 2016, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Louisiana.

James claims that he developed kidney failure as an alleged result of his Nexium prescription which lasted from 2012 to April 2015. James states that he never would have used the medication if he had been aware of potential Nexium renal failure.

Overview of Nexium Renal Failure Correlation

Nexium and other PPI medications currently lack any warnings for kidney disease or renal failure and are currently one of the most popular medications to use to treat ulcers and heartburn.

However recently published studies indicate there may be strong precedent for serious complications including: acute interstitial nephritis (AIN), acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and late stage renal failure.

One of these studies was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology which found that patients taking Nexium and other PPIs were at a high risk for kidney failure.

The study found that when complaining patients taking histamine H2 receptor blockers, which had a 28% increased risk of renal failure, Nexium and other PPIs had a 96% increased chance of developing kidney failure.

Other studies have found similar results indicating strong chances of Nexium renal failure, with another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February 2016.

The study found strong indications of a link between PPIs and chronic kidney disease, with other research showing these medications may increase the risks of acute interstitial nephritis.

It is important to note that in late 2014, the FDA approved Nexium’s label to be updated to include acute interstitial nephritis as a potential side effect. This implies that AstraZeneca may have known about potential Nexium renal failure for years, but failed to warn patients against this possibility.

“Defendants have had notice of serious adverse health outcomes through case reports, clinical studies and post-market surveillance. Specifically, Defendants had received numerous case reports of kidney injuries in patients that had ingested Nexium by as early as 2004.

These reports of numerous kidney injuries put Defendants on notice as to the excessive risks of kidney injuries related to use of Nexium. However, Defendants took no action to inform Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s physicians of this known risk.

Instead, Defendants continued to represent that Nexium did not pose any risks of kidney injury,” the Nexium renal failure lawsuit stated.

James’ Nexium renal failure lawsuit joins other PPI kidney damage claims with similar injuries, alleging the manufacturing companies deliberately omitted this information from the patient population and medical community.