A Louisiana man has added his Benicar lawsuit to the multidistrict litigation (MDL) over Benicar gastrointestinal symptoms.

Plaintiff Thomas J. is suing defendants Daiichi Sankyo, Forest Laboratories, and their related companies, manufacturers of Benicar.

Thomas says in his Benicar lawsuit that he started taking the blood pressure drug in 2011. Later he developed severe gastrointestinal symptoms. He now alleges these symptoms resulted from his use of Benicar.

Thomas’s Benicar lawsuit is part of a multidistrict litigation over the side effects of Benicar. This MDL is a consolidation of several individual Benicar lawsuits into a single action in a single court, for the purpose of efficiently and consistently resolving issues that are common to all the claims.

Benicar, also known by its generic name olmesartan, is one of a class of medications called angiotensin II receptor blockers, used to treat hypertension. The FDA first approved Benicar for that use in April 2002.

The Benicar MDL also implicates Benicar HCT, Azor and Tribenzor, all of which use olmesartan in combination with other drugs. Plaintiffs say that Daiichi Sankyo calls this group of olmesartan medications the “Benicar Family.”

According to the MDL’s master long form complaint, products in the Benicar Family put the plaintiffs at an increased risk of developing severe intestinal conditions known variously as olmesartan-associated enteropathy, sprue-like enteropathy, and villous atrophy. Symptoms associated with these conditions include gastrointestinal pain, inflammation, nausea, vomiting, chronic diarrhea, malnutrition, weight loss, and dehydration. Plaintiffs say these conditions can also lead to colitis, gastritis, kidney failure, and sometimes death.

The plaintiffs cite several studies showing a connection between Benicar and sprue-like enteropathy.  They note a Drug Safety Communication issued by the FDA in July 2013, alerting physicians and patients to the possibility that Benicar can cause sprue-like enteropathy. The communication warned that this condition can begin months or even years after beginning to take Benicar.

The FDA described 23 cases of Benicar side effects reported to its Adverse Event Reporting System. All of these patients’ symptoms improved after discontinuing olmesartan. A study by the Mayo Clinic showed similar results in 22 other patients. Plaintiffs also cite several other case studies from the U.S. and Europe, describing episodes of Benicar side effects that in some cases resulted in considerable weight loss and in other cases lasted several months.

The plaintiffs argue that Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories exaggerated the benefits of olmesartan medications and understated or simply concealed their associated risks. They say that starting in 2002, defendants overpromoted olmesartan products as being “superior, more effective, and safer than other antihypertensive drugs available.” That promotion resulted in a 2006 finding by the FDA that the defendants’ claims of efficacy and safety were false and misleading.

Plaintiffs in the Benicar MDL have the option of bringing claims alleging defective design, failure to warn, various types of negligence, misrepresentation and fraud, breach of warranty, and violation of various states’ consumer protection laws. Certain surviving family members of deceased victims may bring a claim for wrongful death and survival action. Spouses of those who suffered Benicar side effects may bring a claim for loss of consortium to seek compensation for the harm to their marital relationship.

This Benicar MDL is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey,  MDL No. 2606.