A Texas woman has filed a lawsuit against Daiichi Sankyo, after allegedly suffering from Benicar sprue-like enteropathy symptoms caused by its popular hypertension drug.

The plaintiff, Mollie T., began taking Benicar at the direction of her doctor back in 2002, but soon began experiencing severe complications from the drug. According to her Benicar sprue-like enteropathy lawsuit, Mollie suffered from serious gastrointestinal injuries including villous atrophy, sprue-like enteropathy, colitis, kidney failure, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, among several others.

In response to these problems, Mollie filed her Benicar sprue-like enteropathy lawsuit on June 26 on multiple counts, including design defect, failure to warn, negligence, fraudulent concealment, breach of express and implied warranties, violation of consumer protection law of the state of Texas, and several others.

Background of Benicar

Benicar (also known by its generic name, olmesartan medoxomil) is a popular hypertension medication used to treat elevated blood pressure levels. Patients with elevated blood pressure face a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes, and Benicar and other hypertension drugs like it work to reduce these risks.

Benicar is manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002. Since its release onto the market, Benicar has rapidly increased in popularity, becoming one of the most commonly used blood pressure drugs. So far, over 11 million people across the U.S. have been prescribed Benicar to treat blood pressure.

Benicar Sprue-Like Enteropathy

Any medication comes with certain mild side effects that, in most cases, go away on their own. However, several studies have linked olmesartan drugs like Benicar with more serious side effects, including Benicar sprue-like enteropathy. Sprue-like enteropathy symptoms can be quite severe, and include chronic diarrhea, villous atrophy, and substantial weight loss.

The FDA has issued a drug safety communication warning about the possibility of intestinal problems like Benicar sprue-like enteropathy symptoms. They have also updated the labels of Benicar to warn about these risks.

For patients who already present Benicar sprue-like enteropathy symptoms, being taken off the drug has “resulted in clinical improvement of sprue-like enteropathy symptoms in all patients.” Although Benicar is one of several drugs in its class, known as angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARBs, it is the only one that has shown a frequent occurrence of sprue-like enteropathy symptoms, according to the FDA.

Filing a Benicar Lawsuit

So far, over 1,250 patients have filed lawsuits against Daiichi Sanko over a variety of side effects, including Benicar sprue-like enteropathy.

If you or someone you love has suffered from Benicar sprue-like enteropathy or other side effects, you may be able to file a Benicar lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering of these problems, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.

The Benicar Sprue-Like Enteropathy Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-04669-RBK-JS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage.