Benicar, a popular hypertension drug, has also been linked to many serious side effects. Recently, drug makers Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories have agreed to pay a $300 million Benicar settlement to resolve 2,300 lawsuits regarding these side effects.

Benicar is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist drug and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995. It is estimated that over 11 million patients have been prescribed Benicar.

However, many patients who take Benicar, generically known as olmesartan, report experiencing severe gastrointestinal side effect while taking the hypertension drug. Some of these Benicar side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and electrolyte abnormalities.

Because these gastrointestinal side effects mimic another, unrelated condition know as celiac disease, often patients are misdiagnosed. Celiac disease is the inability of the body to digest gluten. Those who are diagnosed with celiac disease must not eat gluten of any kind to avoid severe symptoms.

The Benicar severe gastrointestinal problems are very similar to those patients who suffer from celiac disease and many patients are mistakenly put on gluten-free diets, only to have their symptoms remain.

But it has been found that if a Benicar user who is experiencing these gastrointestinal problems stops using the drug, the symptoms often subside.

In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that a gastrointestinal condition known as sprue-like enteropathy can occur with Benicar use. The FDA asked that the labels for Benicar include this as a potential complication. Spurring this safety warning was 23 cases of serious late-onset diarrhea in Benicar users.

This recent $300 million Benicar settlement was signed by both sides recently, according to Law360. Even so, Daichii Sankyo does not admit that there was any wrongdoing on their part.

A spokesperson for the drug manufacturer told Law360, “Daiichi Sankyo is committed to the health and safety of all patients taking our medications.”

“We believe a settlement is in the best interest of all, and will allow us to continue our focus on bringing to market innovative medicines that help people live healthy and meaningful lives,” he continued.

U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler and U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider have been hearing these Benciar lawsuits for over two years, so the Benicar settlement agreement was seen as a benefit to all involved in order to prevent this litigation to continue for more time.

This multidistrict litigation began in April 2015 when the U.S. Judicial Panel centralized many Benicar lawsuits from other states into one MDL in New Jersey. Later that year, dozens of state lawsuits were formally centralized in the Atlantic County Superior Court.

During the Benicar settlement hearing, Judge Kugler praised the attorneys and all the hard work they had done during the process. This Benicar settlement requires that those patients who would still yet file a claim, must be working with an attorney by August 23.

The Benicar MDL is In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.