Long term use of Nexium and kidney disease complications are related, according to a recent PPI lawsuit filed against AstraZenca.

Plaintiff Alicia L. says she used Nexium and Nexium 24 hours regularly from 2006 to 2013. She was later diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and renal failure, allegedly linked to her usage of Nexium products.

Alicia recently filed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, AstraZeneca LP, and Pfizer Inc., claiming that long term use of Nexium and kidney disease are directly related.

Her Nexium and kidney disease lawsuit claims, “Plaintiff would not have used PPI’s had Defendants properly disclosed the risks associated with these PPIs.”

PPI Drugs

Nexium is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drug which can be used to treat gastric ulcers, dyspepsia, acid peptic disease, and other conditions arising from an excess of stomach acid. There are a wide variety of PPI drugs available; an estimated 21 million Americans used prescription PPI drugs in 2009. This number does not include those who used over the counter PPI drugs, setting the overall PPI usage at an astonishingly high number.

However, usage of Nexium and kidney disease are allegedly related. In 1992, three years after the FDA first approved a PPI drug for usage, researchers published the first article linking PPI drugs with kidney injury. The researchers reached their conclusion after reviewing years worth of reports from national drug registries.

Numerous studies have been published since then affirming the link between PPI drugs such as Nexium and kidney disease. Nexium kidney damage reported by these studies includes acute interstitial nephritis, acute kidney injuries, chronic kidney disease, and end-stage renal disease.

Alicia claims that Nexium manufacturers knew or should have known that their Nexium and kidney disease are related, but failed to warn consumers. The lack of warning allegedly increases the risks associated with Nexium and kidney disease, as prompt medical treatment is needed in these situations.

In 2016, a study published in Journal of Nephrology reportedly showed that failure to treat acute interstitial nephritis, such as that caused by Nexium kidney damage, can lead to chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. Alicia argues that this makes the potential link between Nexium and kidney disease even more insidious and threatening to consumer health.

“Prompt diagnosis and rapid withdrawal of the offending agent are key in order to preserve kidney function. While AIN can be treated completely, once it has progressed to CKD it is incurable and can only be managed, which, combined with the lack of numerous early-onset symptoms, highlights the need for screening of at-risk individual,” the Nexium kidney damage lawsuit states.

Alicia accuses the defendants of failure to warn, defective design, negligence, breach of express warranties, breach of implied warranties, civil conspiracy, concert of action, violation of consumer protection laws and vicarious liability. The Nexium and kidney disease lawsuit seeks punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Nexium Kidney Damage Lawsuit is Case No. 155045/2018 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of New York.