Daiichi Saknyo, a worldwide pharmaceutical company based in Japan, is currently facing around 1,700 Benicar lawsuits over problems with its popular blood pressure drug.

Benicar has faced litigation since its release, but the number of Benicar lawsuits against Daiichi Sankyo has grown exponentially in recent years.

Background of Benicar

Benicar (also known by its generic name, olmesartan medoxomil) is an extremely popular and widely used hypertension drug. Benicar is manufactured and distributed by Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., a pharmaceutical giant out of Japan.

Benicar was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002 to treat hypertension, or high blood pressure.

Benicar is just one of a variety of newly popular olmesartan drugs. Other olmesartan drugs currently available on the drug  market include Benicar HCT, Azor, and Tribenzor.

Since these drugs were approved, the use of olmesartan drugs has steadily increased. By 2012, nearly 2 million people were filling prescriptions for olmesartan products, including Benicar, each year. This is especially impressive when considering that Benicar was only approved in 2002, a mere ten years earlier.

Benicar and other olmesartan drugs work to relieve blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels, allowing them to move blood throughout the body with less effort.

Serious Benicar Side Effects

Despite the popularity of olmesartan drugs like Benicar, the drug has actually been linked to a variety of serious side effects.

Mild side effects are to be expected from any drug, but certain Benicar side effects are allegedly too dangerous, essentially meaning that Benicar provides more risk than reward.

For some, these complications are mild and go away on their own, without further treatment. For others, however, these side effects can be quite severe, affecting their lives significantly and sometimes requiring medical treatment.

One such serious Benicar side effect is known as sprue-like enteropathy. Sprue-like enteropathy is a condition involving a number of intestinal problems which can be physically harmful and lasting in nature.

Some of these intestinal problems may include severe, chronic diarrhea and substantial weight loss. For many patients, sprue-like enteropathy as a result of ingesting Benicar may cause lasting complications, and may even require emergency hospitalization.

Some unfortunate Benicar patients may even be incorrectly diagnosed with Celiac Disease, given the similarities between the symptoms. This is problematic because patients may be improperly treated for years before being correctly diagnosed with sprue-like enteropathy.

In response to the growing connections being made between Benicar and gastrointestinal injuries, the FDA issued a drug warning on July 3, 2013. The warning noted the link between Benicar and sprue-like enteropathy, as well as other gastrointestinal injuries.

The FDA also approved a warning label that would have an updated list of side effects, including these gastrointestinal injuries.

Benicar Lawsuits

Benicar lawsuits claim that Daiichi Sankyo either knew or should have known that Benicar causes major side effects in some users.

However, the pharmaceutical company failed to adequately warn both the public and the medical community about the link between Benicar and these injuries, Benicar lawsuits claim.

Plaintiffs allege that, had Daiichi Sankyo given adequate warning of Benicar’s side effects, they would have chosen a safer alternative to Benicar.

Though filing a Benicar lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering experienced by some Benicar users because of these side effects, it can help to compensate for financial expenses that may have been incurred by these problems.

The first bellwether trials for these Benicar lawsuits are scheduled to begin next year.

If you or someone you love has taken Benicar or a similar olmesartan drug and gastrointestinal side effects, you may be able to add your own lawsuit to the growing number of Benicar lawsuits.