A California man is using the makers of Eliquis after his mother died from Eliquis fatal bleeding. She died Nov. 7, 2015.

Eliquis is a blood-thinning drug marketed as a once daily oral medication that does not need patient monitoring like Coumadin does.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer manufacture Eliquis, generically known as apixaban. Eliquis has been marketed as superior to older blood thinner Coumadin (warfarin).

Is Eliquis Superior to Coumadin?

Dr. Curt Furberg is a medical advisor to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the healthcare community and the public about medication safety.

Dr. Furberg says that the new blood thinners have a wide variation in clot-preventing effects, depending upon the patient.

Research shows that while a certain dose of Eliquis might work well for some patients, that same dose might be too low to effectively stop a blood clot from forming in other patients. On the other hand, that identical dose could lead to an Eliquis fatal bleeding episode in yet another patient.

According to the Eliquis fatal bleeding lawsuit, the “Defendants, as manufacturers and distributers [sic] of Eliquis, are held to the level of knowledge of an expert in the field; and further, Defendants knew or should have known that warnings and other clinically significant information and data which they distributed regarding the risks of irreversible bleeds and other injuries and death associated with Eliquis was inadequate.”

Eliquis Had a Rough Road to FDA Approval

Eliquis was the last of the new blood thinners to be approved by the FDA.

Its clinical trial known as ARISTOTLE (Apixaban for Reduction in Stroke and Other Thrombotic Events in Atrial Fibrillation) was widely criticized. There were accusations of alleged cover-ups, unreported serious adverse events (including one death), and patients who received the wrong medication.

The FDA said that the drug’s clinical trial issues showed problems that demonstrated a “pattern of inadequate trial conduct and oversight.” The FDA faulted the study for containing inaccurate data, and the data in the English version did not match the data presented in the Chinese language.

In December 2012, the FDA approved Eliquis after deciding other clinical trial results adequately showed the drug’s effectiveness.

Eliquis Fatal Bleeding Issues

Eliquis has no available antidote. The old standby blood thinner Coumadin can have its anticoagulant effects reversed by introducing vitamin K. But if a patient takes Eliquis and starts to have uncontrollable bleeding, administering an antidote is not an option.

Allegations in the Eliquis fatal bleeding lawsuit include, “The dosages and/or formulation of Eliquis was unreasonably dangerous in design and there are no patients for whom the benefits of Eliquis outweigh the risk.”

If you or someone you know has taken Eliquis and suffered bleeding side effects, you could eligible for compensation through an Eliquis lawsuit.

The Eliquis Fatal Bleeding Lawsuit is Case No. SCUK-16-68260 in the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of Mendocino.