A new AstraZeneca Nexium lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Newark Division on June 28, 2018. The legal complaint alleges that the primary plaintiff’s long-term use of Nexium and kidney disease are related.

The action was filed by plaintiffs Clarence D. and Dian D, a married couple from Waycross, Ga. Their AstraZeneca Nexium lawsuit joins existing proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) products liability litigation that has been set up in New Jersey as Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) No. 2789.

According to the narrative of the short-form AstraZeneca Nexium lawsuit, Clarence claims that in addition to his extended use of Nexium and kidney disease being connected, the PPI also contributed to acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) and kidney injury (AKI). AIN is an overall inflammation of the spaces between the renal tubes of the kidney which leads to AKI and sometimes complete renal failure.

The AstraZeneca Nexium lawsuit alleges that Clarence took Nexium and Nexium 24 hr from 2002 to 2018 while living in Waycross. It doesn’t indicate the frequency with which he took the PPI.

He brings several causes of action forward from the master long-form AstraZeneca Nexium lawsuit to hold the drug’s manufacturer liable for Nexium and kidney disease side effect: Count 1: Strict Product Liability (SPL); Count 2: SPL-Design Defect; Count 3: SPL-Failure to Warn; Count 4: Negligence; Count 8: Negligent Misrepresentation; Count 9: Fraud & Fraudulent Misrepresentation; Count 10: Fraudulent Concealment. His wife Dian joins the action with Count 12: Loss of Consortium.

The History of PPI Research and Kidney Side Effects

There are active acid pumps in the stomach which produce gastric acid that breaks down consumed food. PPIs slow this production down through an inhibitory process, temporarily reducing the stomach’s parietal cell production.

Despite kidney injury being associated with PPI use in an article published in the American Journal of Medicine back in 1992, It was estimated that over 20 million U.S. citizens were taking prescription drugs of this class in 2009.

According to the facts section of the lawsuit, the medical literature has had numerous releases of studies that support this initial hypothesis. In 2006 and 2007, three different articles reported a link between PPI use and AIN.

In 2011, a consumer advocacy group contacted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with its concerns about the studies and published reviews. The citizen’s organization requested additional warnings be put on labels.

It wasn’t until three years later that the FDA acted on this request and all prescription PPIs warning labels were changed to reflect growing concerns with long-term kidney damage from use. This label change did not affect over-the-counter products.

Researchers believe the metabolic byproducts of both prescription and over-the-counter PPI drugs can deposit in the spaces between the renal tubules and bring on an inflammatory condition that might be hard to for a physician to pinpoint. The delay in diagnosis and treatment can cause a dangerous or even deadly amount of waste products to accumulate in the body.