A New Jersey woman has filed a Benicar gastrointestinal injuries lawsuit against Daiichi Sankyo Inc., the makers and manufacturers of Benicar.

Plaintiff Erika P. alleges that as a result of taking Benicar, also known as olmesartan medoxomil, she allegedly suffered severe and debilitating Benicar gastrointestinal injuries.

Benicar Gastrointestinal Injuries Lawsuit Joins Others in MDL

Erika’s product liability litigation is a part of an MDL, or large multidistrict litigation, which pertains to allegations that the prescribed blood pressure medication causes severe Benicar gastrointestinal injuries.

The MDL is comprised of all individuals who have been injured and have suffered from severe gastrointestinal injuries after taking Benicar.

Benicar was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002. It is an angiotensin II receptor blocker that is prescribed to patients to lower blood pressure that may be increased due to hypertension. The medication works by dilating blood vessels, which thereby lowers blood pressure.

Extreme gastrointestinal side effects have been associated with the drug. Death has also been known to occur due to alleged Benicar gastrointestinal injuries. Some side effects associated with the drug include kidney failure, chronic diarrhea, gastrointestinal pain, nausea, gastric, colitis and even death.

The Benicar gastrointestinal injuries lawsuit accuses the defendants of failing to adequately test the safety of the drug. They accuse the defendants of allegedly creating an unsafe product and providing insufficient forewarning of the risks involved in taking Benicar and other brands including Azor, Benicar HCT and Tribenzor.

In June 2003, Benicar HCT was approved by the FDA. Azor and Tribenzor were approved for use in September 2007 and July 2010, respectively.

In July 2013, however, the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication warning that these medications cause Benicar gastrointestinal injuries. They had approved changes to be made to the drug’s labeling which would be to include these adverse risks and concerns.

Some of these concerns include adverse side effects such as weight loss, chronic diarrhea, and disease of the small intestine, or enteropathy.

Several studies conducted have attested to these medical risks and concerns. According to the Benicar gastrointestinal injuries lawsuit, case reports published in the Internal Medicine Journal in July 2014 described a patient who began experiencing villous atrophy and intraepithelial lymphocytosis, within 6 months of beginning Benicar. The medication was later discontinued.

Additionally, the Benicar gastrointestinal injuries lawsuit iterates a study published by the Annals of Pharmacotherapy. The lawsuit states that the study found Benicar users losing approximately 35 pounds in weight and suffered from kidney failure and dehydration. Diagnostic tests reportedly revealed pan-gastrointestinal enteropathy.

Lastly, the Benicar gastrointestinal injuries lawsuit further states, “another case report of injuries extending beyond the duodenum was published in Endoscopy in 2014. That report was of a patient who had been hospitalized numerous times, incorrectly diagnosed with celiac, and had lost thirty pounds. Diagnostic testing showed villous atrophy of both the duodenum and the jejunum.”

Erika’s Benicar Gastrointestinal Injuries Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-04510-RBK-JS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage. The Benicar gastrointestinal injuries MDL is In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2606 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage.