Patients needing anticoagulant therapy have a handful of drugs to choose from. However, the new generation anticoagulants have been allegedly inducing numerous serious bleeding complications in patients, without a readily available bleeding antidote.

The blood thinner Eliquis is the most recent addition to these options. Eliquis was approved by the FDA in 2012. It was released as a joint effort between Pfizer and Bristol Myers.

Eliquis is commonly prescribed to patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, who may be at a higher risk for stroke. Anticoagulants are a popular treatment option in general for patients who are susceptible to blood clotting. These patients may be at risk of stroke or other blood clot injuries.

These new anticoagulants were developed to offer alternatives to the much older drug warfarin. Warfarin requires patients to frequently see their doctors for dose adjustments.

Warfarin also has a readily available reversal agent in case of internal bleeding. But the blood thinner Eliquis and some other new generation anticoagulants do not have a bleeding antidote readily available.

While the single daily dosage make the blood thinner Eliquis and other new generation anticoagulants popular among patients, the lack of a reversal agent has caused major concern in the medical community.

Bleeding Complications Related to Blood Thinner Eliquis

Like other anticoagulants, the blood thinner Eliquis works by inhibiting the body’s clotting mechanism. However, these medications also impair the body’s ability to recover from internal bleeding complications, which often need emergency intervention to treat.

It is important to note that the ability to recover from internal bleeding problems was a prevalent concern since Pradaxa’s release in 2010, when patients reported needing hospitalization. Xarelto received similar criticism soon after, with Johnson & Johnson and Bayer HealthCare still facing litigation.

Other new anticoagulants have been the subject of massive amounts of product liability litigation, much of it directed at manufacturers Johnson & Johnson and Bayer HealthCare.

FDA approval for the Eliquis blood thinner was delayed over concerns that the trial results had been tampered with to increase the chances of FDA approval.

In fact, critics state that the Eliquis clinical trials, known as the ARISTOTLE trials, lacked sufficient reports of potential complications and accused the trial administrators of violating practice guidelines.

Plaintiffs in Eliquis litigation allege that even with all these concerns surrounding the Eliquis blood thinner, Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb have failed to adequately warn patients against internal bleeding complications.