Several Onfi (clobazam) users have developed Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) after taking the drug. Onfi SJS has allegedly appeared in a small number of users who developed the potentially deadly skin disorder as a direct result of taking the drug. Lundbeck LLC, Onfi’s manufacturer, has been faced with many Onfi SJS lawsuits that have claimed Lundbeck failed to adequately warn users against potential SJS side effects.

Stevens Johnson Syndrome

SJS is a severe skin disorder that begins with flu-like symptoms and a red/purplish rash that progresses into blisters. The blisters then cause the skin to literally burn off from the inside out, causing the skin to peel off. SJS blistering may also spread to mucous membranes such as the eyes, mouth, and nose.

SJS is extremely painful and requires immediate hospitalization. SJS can also lead to secondary infections, sepsis, and death.

When the infected skin covers more than 20%-30% of the body, the Stevens Johnson diagnosis changes to Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). TEN is much more severe and dangerous than SJS. While the fatality rate of SJS is 5%-15%, about 40% of TEN patients dies from the disease. TEN causes the skin to slough off, coming off of the body in sheets. Many TEN patients are treated in burn wards  because the wounds and damages caused by TEN are very similar to burns.

SJS and TEN can leave permanent and painful scaring that can limit movement. If SJS infects the eye, a patient may become blind.

SJS and TEN are rare diseases, but because of their danger, it is a disease often warned against or brought up in SJS lawsuits if a drug maker has failed to warn against the disease. SJS is usually a reaction to a drug. 

Onfi SJS

The FDA recently issued an Onfi SJS warning, stating that the anti-seizure mediation was linked to several SJS and TEN cases. The FDA advised that patients be taken off of Onfi, “at the fist sign of rash, unless the rash is clearly not drug-related,” as to prevent the disease from progressing.

Onfi is approved to treat Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which is a severe epilepsy and seizure condition found in children. Patients who develop Onfi SJS or TEN often spend weeks or months in the hospital in order to recover from the disease, if they survive.

SJS and TEN can cost patients and families thousands of dollars to treat, both for the immediate condition and secondary side effects that follow. Onfi SJS lawsuits seeks to win compensations for families in order to cover these costs in addition to pain and suffering experienced by SJS victims. Families may also file Onfi SJS wrongful death lawsuits on behalf of loved ones who had died from the drug-caused skin disorder.