A consumer recently filed a lawsuit against various anti-acid manufacturers, alleging that their products caused PPI kidney disease and injury.

Plaintiff Albertina N. recently filed a lawsuit against various pharmaceutical companies including Abbot, AstraZenca, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, and Takeda. In her lawsuit, Albertina alleges that proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) caused her to develop PPI kidney injury and chronic kidney disease.

Nexium and Prevacid are PPI meds intended to treat heartburn, ulcers, and acid reflux. An estimated 15 million American have been prescribed PPI meds to treat heartburn. There are also over the counter options available, so the total number of consumers taking PPI meds is unknown.

Albertina says she used Nexium and Prevacid from 2000 to 2013. She claims that as a direct result of her PPI use, she developed PPI kidney problems including acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease, both necessitating dialysis.

Chronic kidney disease occurs when kidney function is diminished by an injury or disease. Symptoms of chronic kidney disease include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weakness, sleep problems, and more. Impaired kidneys are not as effective in filtering out toxins in the blood, and people with chronic kidney disease often have to go on dialysis to artificially filter their blood. The only cure for kidney disease is a kidney transplant.

Albertina’s claims are not the first time use of PPI and kidney disease have been linked. A study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology found that patients on PPI meds have a higher chance of developing kidney problems. The study discovered that patients on PPI meds had a 96 percent greater chance of developing kidney failure, as well as a 28 percent chance of developing chronic kidney disease.

In February 2016, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study which further corroborated the link between use of PPI and kidney disease. The study found that patients on PPI meds had a 20 to 50 percent higher chance of developing PPI kidney problems that those patients not on PPI meds. Authors of the research warn that PPI meds should not be taken for an extended period time, as the possibilities of PPI and kidney disease complications increase with use.

In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to such findings by requiring a label change to include acute interstitial nephritis as a possible PPI kidney side effect.

Albertina accuses the defendants of strict product liability, design defect, failure to warn, negligence, breach of warranties, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and violation of Georgia state consumers protection laws. The PPI kidney lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The PPI Kidney Disease Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-09496-CCC-MF and is part of the PPI MDL, In re: Proton-Pump Inhibitor Products Liability Litigation (No. II), Case No. 2:17-md-2789, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.