Xarelto is a blood thinner medication, similar to Pradaxa and Coumadin (warfarin), used to reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythms) not caused by heart valve problems.

Patients taking the oral anticoagulant have reported serous side effects, including internal bleeding and hemorrhaging for which there is no antidote.

Xarelto Lacks Bleeding Antidote

Xarelto, generically known as rivaroxaban, helps patients with atrial fibrillation lower their chances of having a stroke by preventing blood clots from forming.

The prescription medication also prevents blood clots from forming in patients who undergo knee or hip replacement surgery. The blood thinner is also used in general to prevent blood clots from forming in veins deep within the body (deep vein thrombosis) and in the lungs (pulmonary embolism).

Xarelto is manufactured by Bayer and marketed in the United States by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson. There is no antidote for Xarelto bleeding; the same is true for other new generation anticoagulants such as Praxdaxa or Eliquis

In addition, there isn’t any specific treatment with proven effectiveness for handling severe bleeding linked to these anti-clotting drugs.

Xarelto Side Effects

The most commonly reported side effect of the blood thinner is uncontrolled bleeding, and severe internal bleeding. Other known complications include:

• Red, pink or brown urine
• Bright red or black stools
• Vomiting blood or vomit that looks like “coffee grounds”
• Unexpected or long-term bleeding
• Pain, swelling, or new drainage at wound sites

In approving the prescription blood thinner in November 2011 for treating patients with atrial fibrillation, the FDA issued its most serious warning, called a “black box warning” that patients who suddenly stop taking Xarelto  are at an increased risk for stroke if the medication is not replaced by another blood thinner to prevent a blood clot from developing.

The FDA further warned that epidural or spinal hematomas have occurred in patients taking Xarelto who were receiving anesthesia or undergoing spinal puncture. The hematomas could result in long-term or permanent paralysis.

Xarelto Lawsuits

The anticoagulant drug Xarelto has been linked to serious internal bleeding and other serious side effects. While the drug has been shown to require less intensive patient monitoring than its major competitor warfarin, reports have shown that in some patients, Xarelto may cause life-threatening blood clots and potentially irreversible internal bleeding episodes.

Many Xarelto lawsuits similarly accuse the drug companies of falsely claiming that Xarelto users do not need to undergo routine testing for Xarelto bleeding or blood clots and that patients were not warned that Xarelto does not have a reversal agent, unlike warfarin, which can be counteracted with a single dose of Vitamin K when bleeding events occur.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has agreed to centralize all federally-filed Xarelto Lawsuits into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) to be established in the U.S. District Court, in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Bayer Healthcare and Janssen Pharmaceuticals now face over 300 Xarelto injury lawsuits with more than a thousand claims expected to be filed against the company by trial time, with all claimants expected to bring forth similar allegations that the company failed to warn them of the serious, and sometimes deadly, side effects of the popular blood-thinner.