AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals is facing a new Nexium kidney lawsuit, from a woman alleging she developed permanent health problems from the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drug.

The Nexium kidney lawsuit alleges the claimant had unexpectedly developed a life-threatening condition, which she has been contending with since the diagnosis.

Plaintiff Mary R. filed this Nexium kidney lawsuit soon after developing the condition, alleging AstraZeneca failed to warn her against the correlation between Nexium and chronic kidney disease.

Nexium and other proton pump inhibitor medications work by limiting the amount of digestive fluids secreted in the stomach, which helps reduce gastric pain and other similar pains.

This makes proton pump inhibitors good treatment choices for stomach ulcers, acid reflux, heartburn, and other related conditions, and are among the most popular medication groups in the United States. There are over 15 million people who have been prescribed PPI medications, but the total number is likely much higher due to the availability of over the counter variants.

It has been recently discovered that Nexium and chronic kidney disease may be connected and has caused major concern in the medical community. According to the Nexium kidney lawsuit, Mary had used Nexium and fellow PPI drugs Prevacid and Protonix from 1994 through 2016 for typical treatment purposes.

During this time, Mary says she took the medications according to the label instructions and had no reason to believe she was at risk for serious health complications.

Overview of Nexium and Chronic Kidney Disease Correlation

One of the most significant studies indicating the alleged link between Nexium and chronic kidney disease was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, which compared patients who were either prescribed proton pump inhibitors or histamine H2 receptor blockers.

The study found that patients faced a 96 percent increased risk of kidney failure, along with a 28 percent increased risk of chronic kidney disease. Another study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February 2016, which also indicated a link between PPI medications and chronic kidney disease.

This study and other research also reportedly found that proton pump inhibitors could also increase the risk of acute interstitial nephritis, which is a condition known to evolve into kidney failure. The authors of the research stated that Nexium and other PPIs are overprescribed, and should only be taken for short periods of time.

Two years before the JAMA study in late 2014, the FDA approved a label update for Nexium to include acute interstitial nephritis. Even though the alleged link between Nexium and chronic kidney disease if vital safety information for the public, AstraZeneca and the pharmaceutical companies named in this Nexium kidney lawsuit allegedly failed to warn the public.

At all times relevant, Mary says she relied on the product information that AstraZeneca and the other manufacturers provided, which allegedly made no mention of a potential Nexium and chronic kidney disease correlation.

Mary states she would not have taken Nexium or other PPIs if she knew there was an increased risk of kidney complications.

This Nexium Kidney Lawsuit is Index No. 155127/2018, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York.