A New Jersey federal court has begun organizing a schedule and leadership for both plaintiffs and defendants in the multidistrict litigation over Benicar gastrointestinal symptoms.

The Benicar lawsuit multidistrict litigation, or MDL, began in April 2015 when the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated 15 separate Benicar lawsuits and transferred them to a New Jersey federal court.

The plaintiffs allege in their Benicar lawsuits that Benicar and related drugs Benicar HCT and Azor cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms or injuries, including sprue-like enteropathy and different types of colitis.

Benicar Side Effects

Benicar is an angiotensin II receptor blocker, or ARB, used to treat hypertension, for which use the FDA initially approved it in April 2002. Benicar is also known by its generic name olmesartan medoxomil.

The same active ingredient also appears in drugs marketed as Azor, Tribenzor, and some generics. It is also available in combination with hydrochlorothiazide under the name Benicar HCT.

Several Benicar patients have reported developing sprue-like enteropathy, a condition involving severe, chronic diarrhea with substantial weight loss. Some patients have reported abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. This condition may develop several months or even years after starting to take Benicar.

It can require hospitalization and sometimes leaves the patient with permanent gastrointestinal problems. Over time, patients with sprue-like enteropathy may develop villous atrophy, an erosion or shortening of the villi in the small intestine.

In some cases, Benicar side effects were misdiagnosed as celiac disease or unclassified sprue, and as a result the patient’s doctor did not discontinue Benicar treatment, allowing the condition to continue or get worse.

In July 2013 the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication warning about the increased risk of sprue-like enteropathy associated with Benicar and other olmesartan medications. The FDA recommended discontinuing the medication if no other cause of the condition can be found. With that communication came changes to Benicar’s label to address that increased risk.

The plaintiffs in these Benicar lawsuits generally allege that manufacturers Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories failed to properly warn patients and their doctors of the increased risk of sprue-like enteropathy associated with Benicar.

Benicar MDL

Following an initial status conference on April 29, the court issued an order appointing liaison counsel for both plaintiffs and defendants. Within 30 days of the order, the plaintiffs must submit a master complaint as well as a short-form complaints for each plaintiff. The court set up a schedule for the parties to meet for monthly status conferences.

Typical in MDLs like this one is the selection of certain Benicar lawsuits to be the first to go to trial, known as “bellwether” cases. These cases will be used to flesh out the issues on each side and see how each side’s evidence goes over with juries.

The outcomes of bellwether cases are typically not binding on the rest of the claims in the MDL but are instead used for informational purposes to assist the parties in reaching settlement agreements. Cases in the MDL that do not end in settlement may be transferred back to the district courts where they originated.

The Benicar Lawsuit MDL is In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2602, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.