A growing number of Benicar patients are filing lawsuits against Daiichi Sankyo, alleging that the popular hypertension drug caused serious complications including sprue-like enteropathy symptoms.

Background of Benicar

Benicar (also known by its generic name, olmesartan medoxomil) is a popular hypertension medication used to treat elevated blood pressure levels. Patients with elevated blood pressure face a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes, and Benicar and other hypertension drugs work to reduce these risks.

Benicar is manufactured by Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration back in 2002. Since its release onto the market, Benicar has rapidly increased in popularity, becoming one of the most widely used blood pressure drugs.

Indeed, over 11 million people across the U.S. have been prescribed Benicar to treat blood pressure, the drug’s popularity does not mean that it does not also come with its own risks — some of them quite serious.

Benicar Side Effects

Any medication comes with certain mild side effects that, in most cases, go away on their own. However, several studies have linked olmesartan drugs like Benicar with more serious side effects. Among the possible complications that have been reported are the following:

• Sprue-like enteropathy
• Colitis
• Kidney failure
• Malabsorption
• Malnutrition
• Dehydration
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting/Nausea
• Abdominal pain
• Inflammation

Sprue-Like Enteropathy Symptoms

Sprue-like enteropathy symptoms
can be quite severe, and include chronic diarrhea, villous atrophy, and substantial weight loss.

With this in mind, the FDA has issued a drug safety communication warning about the possibility of intestinal problems like sprue-like enteropathy symptoms. They have also updated the labels of Benicar to warn about these risks.

For patients who already present sprue-like enteropathy symptoms, being taken off the drug has “resulted in clinical improvement of sprue-like enteropathy symptoms in all patients.”

In July 2013, the FDA issued a warning about serious side effects of the drug, linking the medication to chronic diarrhea, weight gain and gastrointestinal issues. The FDA also introduced several label changes to reflect their acknowledgement of the potential side effects.

Although Benicar is one of several drugs in its class, known as angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARBs, it is the only one that has shown a frequent occurrence of sprue-like enteropathy symptoms, according to the FDA.

Filing a Benicar Sprue-Like Enteropathy Lawsuit

Indeed, as knowledge of Benicar side effects spreads, more and more patients are filing Benicar lawsuits against manufacturer Daiichi Sankyo. As of yet, over 1,250 lawsuits have been filed against Daiichi Sankyo over a variety of Benicar side effects, including sprue-like enteropathy symptoms.

Injured patients claim that the drug’s manufacturers either knew or should have known about the risk of such Benicar problems, yet failed to adequately warn the public and the medical community about the risk of sprue-like enteropathy symptoms.

If you or someone you love has suffered from sprue-like enteropathy symptoms or other Benicar side effects, you may be able to file a Benicar lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering of these problems, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.