A Benicar adverse side effects lawsuit has been filed by a woman who took the drug and now suffers malnutrition, vomiting and kidney problems.

Benicar (olmesartan) from Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories was approved by the FDA in 2002 to treat high blood pressure. Doctors now know one of the worst side effects of Benicar is sprue-like enteropathy, a condition that mimics celiac disease. Sprue-like enteropathy is a disease that mimics celiac disease with symptoms such as severe, chronic diarrhea and substantial weight loss. A blood test can eliminate celiac disease as the cause.

Benicar Adverse Side Effects Lawsuit Details Problems that Can Take Years to Appear

The makers of Benicar conducted clinical trials that lasted only three months. The Benicar adverse side effects lawsuit alleges that not only should the drug makers have known that most patients would be on the medication longer than three months, but also should have tested the drug for effects of longer term exposure.

In some cases, gastrointestinal side effects take years before symptoms begin to appear.

The FDA added a warning of this possibility to Benicar’s labeling in 2013. The FDA’s decision to add a sprue-like enteropathy warning was due in large part to a study done by the Mayo Clinic, where tests showed that patients thought to have celiac disease all tested negative for it.

Researchers found out the only thing the patients had in common was they were all taking Benicar. Fourteen of the 22 patients examined ended up in the hospital with gastrointestinal complications.

The Benicar adverse side effects lawsuit alleges the drug can cause villous atrophy. The walls of our intestines are covered by villi, tiny tentacle-like growths that absorb nutrients in the foods we eat.

Villous atrophy means the villi have eroded away and the insides of the intestines are so smooth that they can no longer absorb nutrients. The result is malnourishment.

In May 2013, The American Journal of Gastroenterology published a report that said patients who tested negative for celiac disease were shown to have villous atrophy from Benicar. Once the patients stopped taking Benicar, they were able to gain weight and their Benicar intestinal side effects subsided.According to the complaint, nearly 73 million Americans age 20 and older have high blood pressure, and nearly 61 percent receive treatment for the condition.

The Benicar adverse side effects lawsuit says Daiichi Sankyo and Forest spent time and money convincing the health care community and the public that Benicar was “superior, more effective, and safer than other antihypertensive drug products available.” Daiichi Sankyo spent $1 billion promoting Benicar and Benicar HCT from 2002 through 2008.

The Benicar Adverse Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-02982-RBK-JS in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage