Boehringer Ingelheim introduced Pradaxa to the commercial marketplace in 2010. Along with Eliquis and Xarelto, Pradaxa is part of a family of medications known as the New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs) made to compete with warfarin’s long-standing history of safety and reliability. But for Pradaxa’s first five years on the market, Pradaxa internal bleeding had no available antidote if it got out of control.

All blood thinners can, as a matter of course, bring on an out-of-control bleeding event. Warfarin—commonly known by the brand name Coumadin—has a known antidote should this occur. Patients are given a rapid infusion of vitamin K. While attempting to maintain warfarin’s blood-thinning effectiveness to prevent clotting, patients are told to avoid foods such as leafy greens that are high in this nutrient.

Pradaxa internal bleeding didn’t respond the same way, and at the time it was introduced, the manufacturer didn’t have a remedy on the ready. Despite this lack, Boehringer Ingelheim was purportedly quick and aggressive in advertising this NOAC as different from warfarin in two key ways.

The first way was that the patient taking it didn’t have to change their diet the way warfarin takers had been instructed for decades. Additionally, the patient was said to be able to take the blood-thinner once a day and need little to no lab monitoring. Essentially, Pradaxa was marketed on the basis of convenience.

Blood thinners are prescribed to people at risk for producing blood clots in their lower extremities—a condition known as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). When these clots break off and flow systemically through the circulatory system, they can obstruct breathing and/or heart rhythm instigating respiratory or cardiac arrest or even stroke. A common obstruction occurs in the lungs and is life-threatening and referred to as a Pulmonary Embolism (PE).

While there are people that make these clots routinely, certain surgeries such as total knee and hip replacements and treatments of cancer increase their likelihood. These “short-termers” were the target market of NOAC manufacturers like Boehringer Ingelheim.

Adverse Event Reports

Reported Pradaxa internal bleeding incidents in the first three months of having the NOAC on the market were in excess of 300—a shocking statistic. After the first year of sales, 260 probable deaths from Pradaxa internal bleeding had been registered.

Despite these horrifying Pradaxa internal bleeding incidents, patients claim, Boehringer Ingelheim allegedly did nothing to remedy or recall the drug they worked so hard to promote. Eventually, they came up with Praxbind, an antidote to situations of Pradaxa internal bleeding, which was expedited through the FDA approval process in order to make it available where it was sorely needed.

This five-year delay did nothing to soothe the loss of loved ones by those that continued to grieve. It did nothing to remedy injuries suffered by those that managed to survive dangerous events while taking the blood-thinner.

If you or a loved one have suffered injury or loss of life by taking Pradaxa during these first five years, you may have a legal claim. Fill out the form on this page to request a consultation.