A Florida woman has filed a products liability litigation against Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories, the makers and marketers of Benicar.

The plaintiff, Sandra H., files the litigation in New Jersey federal court alleging multiple counts including, but not limited to: negligence, fraudulent concealment, breach of expressed and implied warranties, and products liability.

She alleges that she had started taking blood pressure medication Benicar, also known as olmesartan medoxomil, in 2008. She claims she suffered multiple Benicar gastrointestinal side effects as a result of that treatment. She contends that damages suffered include dehydration, vomiting, chronic diarrhea, and weight loss.

Benicar Gastrointestinal Side Effects Lawsuit Joins Others in MDL

Sandra’s product’s liability litigation is part of a large multidistrict litigation, also known as an MDL, which alleges that Benicar causes severe gastrointestinal side effects. The MDL is a consolidation of all federal lawsuits contending that Benicar gastrointestinal side effects have resulted due to the blood pressure medication.

Four olmesartan products are also currently at issue alleging Benicar gastrointestinal injuries. These include Benicar, Benicar HCT, Azor, and Tribenzor.

The Benicar gastrointestinal side effects lawsuit maintains that the defendant, Daiichi Sankyo Inc., failed to adequately test for the safety and efficacy of the drug, and as a result created an allegedly unsafe product. The defendantshad allegedly failed in providing adequate and sufficient warning to the public and medical community of the risks involved in taking Benicar.

Benicar Gastrointestinal Side Effects

Benicar is a popular and commonly used medication used to treat hypertension. Since Benicar was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002, it has been prescribed to more than 11 million people throughout the United States. It is prescribed to treat and lower high levels of blood pressure, a condition that if not treated can causes serious adverse effects such as stroke and heart attacks.

Benicar is described as an angiotensin II receptor blocker that works by dilating the body’s blood vessels, thereby lowering the blood pressure and treating a patient’s hypertension levels.

Unfortunately, adverse event reports filed with the FDA show several examples of Benicar gastrointestinal side effects. Benicar gastrointestinal side effects include severe and chronic diarrhea, sprue-like enteropathy, villous atrophy, weight loss, electrolyte imbalance, kidney failure, gastrointestinal pain, nausea, colitis, gastric, and death.

The FDA says the Mayo Clinic had published a case series of Benicar gastrointestinal side effects including Benicar sprue-like enteropathy in June 2012.

According to the FDA, the case series concluded that “patients in the Mayo Clinic case series developed diarrhea, weight loss, and villous atrophy … and drug discontinuation resulted in clinical improvement.” The case series said that “[e]ighteen patients had follow-up intestinal biopsies histologically demonstrating recovery or improvement of the duodenum after discontinuation” of Benicar.

In another report cited by the Benicar gastrointestinal side effects lawsuit stated that in a study published by the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, the study discovered that some patients taking Benicar lost roughly 35 pounds in weight, suffered from dehydration, and allegedly suffered loses in kidney function, including kidney failure.

Sandra’s Benicar Gastrointestinal Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-04876-RBK-JS and is part of the Benicar Gastrointestinal Injuries MDL In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2606 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage.