Nearly 200 new Xarelto bleeding plaintiffs are part of lawsuits consolidated in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) to manage the high volume of cases.

The latest influx of cases came as U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon, who is overseeing the MDL in the Eastern Louisiana District Court, met with lawyers over the status of the mass litigation. Four Xarelto bleeding lawsuits with varying amounts of plaintiffs accounted for the addition of the latest 198 alleged victims of the blood-thinning medicine.

The MDL was formed in December 2014 to consolidate lawsuits claiming that Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Jansen Pharmaceuticals (along with parent company Johnson & Johnson) attempted to cover up the risk of Xarelto bleeding complications.

In addition to the possible internal bleeding complication, the plaintiffs allege that the companies misled consumers about the safety of the products and failed to mention that there was no reversal agent available to stop internal bleeding.

New-generation anticoagulants, including Xarelto and Pradaxa, do not have a reversal agent. This contrasts with the original anticoagulant, Wafarin (coumadin), whose effects are reversed with Vitamin K.

Those using coumadin must have regular blood monitoring to establish dosing levels. Experts argue that if Xarelto and the other new-generation anticoagulants had these same requirements, then the number of Xarelto bleeding incidents would be much smaller.

When Xarelto was released in 2011, it was meant to directly compete with Warfarin and the first new-generation anticoagulant, Pradaxa. It was advertised to be more convenient than Warfarin and more efficient than Pradaxa.

The internal bleeding injuries mentioned in the most recent Xarelto lawsuits include: hematuria, subdural hematoma, cerebral hemorrhaging, other internal bleeding complications, and several wrongful death claims.

The first Xarelto trials are expected to begin in August 2016. While the results of bellwether trials do not affect individual Xarelto lawsuits, they may influence settlement negotiations, and help gauge how juries may react to certain evidence or testimony.