Florida plaintiff Robert K. is suing Daiichi Sankyo for failing to protect him against the dangerous side effects of their hypertension drug, Benicar. Robert claims that as a direct result of using the medication, he developed severe malnutrition and sprue-like enteropathy, resulting in severe weight loss and other long-term side effects.

Robert was prescribed Benicar to treat his high blood-pressure and to hopefully prevent further health complications. High blood-pressure is one of the leading causes of cardiac attack, anxiety attacks, and similar reactions that the body shuts down from. Ideally, Benicar would have allowed Robert to maintain his daily routine without the stress of additional health problems.

Sadly this was not the case for the plaintiff, as he started experiencing embarrassing and severe side effects soon after starting Benicar.

Among the Benicar side effects reported in the lawsuit, Robert suffered from sprue-like enteropathy, lymphocytic colitis, microscopic colitis, and intestinal malabsorption. As a result of these Benicar side effects, Robert experienced severe diarrhea, weight loss, malnutrition, dehydration, nausea, and acute renal failure.

Robert’s symptoms were so severe that he had to be hospitalized and be given fluids by a physician. While Robert has recovered from these injuries, he must continue to undergo monitoring, testing, and treatment.

Robert’s physician prescribed Benicar after reviewing the defendant’s advertisements, and had no awareness that Benicar could inflict dangerous side effects. The lack of information is especially troubling to the medical community because these side effects are highly similar to the symptoms of Celiac disease, leading doctors to misdiagnose many cases. Had his physician known of these symptoms, he never would have prescribed Robert Benicar, nor would Robert have accepted it.

Robert’s lawyers state that Daiichi Sankyo had the responsibility to warn their client and other Benicar patients of these symptoms, because patients and doctors rely on information provided by the manufacturer. At no point during his prescription did Robert deviate from the label’s instruction, or stray from his physician’s advice.

For allegedly manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous drug, Robert is suing Daiichi Sankyo for negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

This Benicar lawsuit is Robert K. v. Daiichi Sankyo, Case No. 1:15-cv-21144-PCH, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Overview of Benicar Allegations

Benicar (Olmesartan) arrived on the American market in the early 2000s, and has become one of the most popular treatment choices for high blood-pressure. In fact, medical experts declared Benicar to be the best-selling hypertension medication in the United States, reaching millions of patients who suffer from hypertension. While Benicar is unique in its treatment purpose, experts believe that the drug’s success is due to Daiichi Sankyo’s aggressive marketing strategies.

These strategies involved spending $1 billion in advertising expenses between 2002 and 2008. The primary sales strategy involved meeting with physicians and providing clinical samples to promote Benicar. When Benicar was launched, the manufacturer advertised the drug as superior to its competitors due to its highly efficient treatment mechanism. Unfortunately, the drug’s label failed to mention that Benicar could cause severe intestinal damage and symptoms like chronic diarrhea and sprue-like enteropathy.

In July 2013, the FDA issue a public safety warning regarding Benicar’s risk of intestinal damage, and called for Daiichi Sankyo to update Benicar’s label to include new information. Additionally, the FDA ordered Daiichi Sankyo and its partners to stop advertising Benicar as a superior product and to make corrective measures. While the Benicar advertisements were discontinued, the warnings came too late for many patients who suffered sprue-like enteropathy and other such side effects.