Bayer Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the designers and manufacturers of the blood thinning medication Xarelto, have asked a panel of federal judges to deny a motion to centralize dozens of Xarelto bleeding lawsuits before a single judge.

In October, a group of plaintiffs filed a motion to consolidate all Xarelto lawsuits into one Xarelto multidistrict litigation. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will hear oral arguments for a centralized Xarelto MDL on Dec. 4 of this year.

At the end of October, in response to the plaintiffs’ motion for centralization, Bayer and J&J urged the judicial panel to reject centralization of the Xarelto lawsuits because, according to the drug manufacturers, the claims of the drug lawsuits will be too individualized to consolidate them. J&J and Bayer also claim that informal coordination among the various plaintiffs and plaintiffs’ legal counsel will essentially achieve the same purpose as an MDL, making the centralization of these cases unnecessary.

There are more than 30 Xarelto product liability lawsuits filed in 14 U.S. District Courts, similarly alleging Bayer and J&J neglected to warn consumers of the risks of uncontrollable bleeding when taking Xarelto, or  that the companies have not made a Xarelto reversal agent available to doctors should a patient experience serious side effects like a hemorrhage.

In addition to consumer allegations of severe, and sometimes permanent, Xarelto injuries, there also many families filing Xarelto wrongful death lawsuits alleging their loved ones died from uncontrollable bleeding after taking the drug.

Should the judicial panel decide to establish a Xarelto products liability MDL, Bayer and J&J have requested that these cases be transferred to a district court in New Jersey. According to the drug makers, this venue is convenient given that both Bayer and J&J are headquartered there and because a majority of witnesses and documents are also located in that state.

What is Xarelto?

Xarelto is a direct thrombin inhibitor blood thinning medication that is grouped under a new generation of anticoagulant drugs designed to reduce an individual’s risk of developing strokes and blood clots.

Xarelto was initially well received by both physicians and patients and was expected to replace traditional blood thinners like Warfarin. However, over the course of the this year, there have been a number of medical and consumer reports published detailing the allegedly dangerous and fatal side effects of taking Xarelto.

Some side effects of taking Xarelto include:

• Deep vein thrombosis
• Pulmonary embolism
• Abdominal bleeding
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Brain hemorrhaging
• Abnormal liver function
• Reduced platelet levels
• Dizziness
• Hemorrhaging in the eyes
• Low blood pressure
• Nose bleeds
• Rectal bleeding
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Rapid heartbeat
• Bruising
• Edema

As a result of the alleged injuries sustained by taking the Bayer and Johnson & Johnson blood thinner, many individuals have filed Xarelto lawsuits or joined Xarelto class action lawsuits.