A Benicar lawsuit was filed in an Ohio federal court against drug manufacturers Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceuticals and Forest Laboratories LLC., alleging the companies failed to adequately test their high blood pressure medication Benicar and subjected consumers like the plaintiff to an unsafe drug.

Plaintiff Vicki C. claims in the Benicar Lawsuit that she was injured as a result of her use of Benicar, a medication prescribed to treat her high blood pressure. According to Vicki, Benicar side effects caused her to suffer from a severe intestinal disorder known as sprue-like enteropathy, as well as chronic diarrhea, acute renal failure, and severe weight loss. All of the side effects and the resulting damage and trauma allegedly sustained by the plaintiff required hospitalization on several occasions.

The Benicar lawsuit further alleges Daiichi Sankyo advertised and promoted the use of Benicar despite knowing that the drug was inefficiently tested and that its harmful side effects outweighed any potential benefits.

What is Benicar?

Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo Inc. developed the popular prescription medication Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) to treat high blood pressure conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Benicar for commercial sale in April 2002. Since then it has become the most widely prescribed blood pressure medication in the the United States.

Benicar is an angiotension II receptor blocker (ARB). Many patients can trace their high blood pressure to the effects of angiotension II, which can cause blood vessels to narrow. Benicar is designed to block angiotension II, thus allowing a patient’s blood vessels to expand, therby reducing blood pressure.

Benicar Sprue-Like Enteropathy

In a July 2013 drug safety communication, the FDA announced its conclusion that Benicar might cause sprue-like enteropathy after investigating 23 adverse event reports of patients who had been diagnosed with the condition after consuming the Sankyo drug. The agency found that symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy can develop months or years after the start of a Benicar treatment. Some of the 23 Benicar consumers required hospitalization, but when these same patietns discontinued using the drug, it was discovered that all patients reported improvement. The FDA believes that delayed hypersensitivity to the drug in the intestines or a cellular immune response are the possible reasons for the long latency period between initial use of the drug and development of symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy.

A year earlier, researchers at the Mayo Clinic had published a case series identifying 22 other people who took Benicar and developed sprue-like enteropathy. Of the 18 patients who had follow-up biopsies of their intestines performed after discontinuing Benicar treatment, all of them showed signs of improvement.

Benicar Lawsuits

A growing number of patients who were injured after taking Benicar have sued Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories in Benicar lawsuits, claiming these companies had a duty to protect the public by properly conduct research and drug testing before making Benicar available to the public.

The Benicar lawsuit filed by Vicki is seeking compensatory, exemplary, and punitive damages, from Daichii Sankyo’s alleged negligence in failing to provide proper warnings regarding the severity of Benicar side effects.

The Benicar Sprue-Like Enteropathy Lawsuit is Case No. 5:14-cv-027821-JRA, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division.