A Benicar lawsuit was filed in an Ohio court against Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceuticals and Forest Laboratories LLC alleging the companies did not fully disclose the risk of side effects associated with using Benicar.

Plaintiff Pamela B., a resident of Akron, Ohio, alleges that she was injured as a result of her use of Benicar, a medication prescribed to treat her high blood pressure.

According to her lawsuit, Benicar side effects caused her to suffer dangerous personal injuries including chronic diarrhea, acute renal failure, intestinal malabsorption, and a severe intestinal disease known as sprue-like enteropathy for which she was hospitalized on multiple occasions. Pamela’s condition will require continuous monitoring and treatment.

The Benicar lawsuit further alleges Daiichi Sankyo advertised and promoted the use of Benicar despite its failure to test or otherwise determine the safety and efficacy of such use.

What is Benicar?

Benicar is an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). It is sometimes given together with other blood pressure medications.

It lowers high blood pressure in patients by helping the blood vessels in the body to widen and preventing constriction of the vessels. Benicar is one of eight marketed ARB drugs, and the only one linked to sprue-like enteropathy.

An estimated 1.9 million people received prescriptions for Benicar or a related drug in 2012, and about 10.6 million prescriptions for Benicar products were dispensed altogether that year. It is the third highest selling ARB blood pressure medication on the market.

Benicar And Sprue-Like Enteropathy

The link between Benicar and sprue-like enteropathy was first uncovered in 2012. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic found that over a three-year period, 22 patients taking Benicar displayed symptoms suggestive of celiac disease. However, blood tests for the patients did not support this diagnosis.

When patients stopped taking the drug, their GI symptoms improved, according to one of the authors of the study. Several months later, researchers from the American College of Gastroenterology noted that olmesartan, the active ingredient in Benicar, had been linked to an additional 40 cases of sprue-like enteropathy.

Symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy include severe, chronic diarrhea with substantial weight loss.

Benicar Lawsuits

The Benicar lawsuit is seeking all compensatory, treble, and punitive damages, along with court fees for Daichii Sankyo’s alleged negligence in failing to provide proper warnings regarding the severity of Benicar side effects.

The Benicar Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-02494-RBK-JS, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.