Expanded Use of Xarelto was rejected by the FDA three times. In June of 2012, the Food and Drug Administration refused to approve the drug designed as a replacement for older-generation blood thinners like warfarin in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The agency cited concerns over the manufacturers’, Johnson and Johnson and Bayer, failure to present enough information for them to accurately determine the drug’s potential impacts. The FDA rejected Bayer’s and Johnson & Johnson’s attempts to expand Xarelto’s use again in 2013 and early 2014.
Two years after the first FDA rejection, and some $2 billion in sales later, patients and their loved ones started filing Xarelto lawsuits against Johnson and Johnson, as well as German drug manufacturer Bayer AG, when they began suffering severe blood-related side effects, up to and including bleeding to death. Those that did not bleed to death suffered strokes and intense gastrointestinal bleeds. Perhaps most shockingly, some even suffered blood clots – the very ailment the drug was designed to prevent.
No antidote exists for Xarelto. Once symptoms of a severe Xarelto-induced bleed begin, there is little that can be done to stop it. Unlike other anti-coagulants, including the drugs that Xarelto was made to replace, there is no antidote to reverse Xarelto’s effect. Further, claims are exerted that the potential risks of the drug were downplayed by manufacturers in an effort to encourage sales.
This is worth restating: Drug manufacturers may have downplayed the risks of a drug for which there was no known antidote.
The number of Xarelto lawsuits is growing. Xarelto lawsuit numbers around the country have grown to the point where consolidation into multiple Xarelto lawsuit programs has occurred. Federal cases have been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation, or MDL, in Louisiana. In addition a Xarelto mass tort program has been established in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for lawsuits filed in Philadelphia.
A hard-fought legal battle over Xarelto is sure to ensue. Given the increasing number of Xarelto lawsuits, consumers can be assured that a legal storm is brewing over Xarelto. Those injured by the drug, as well as the families of those lost to Xarelto-induced uncontrollable bleeding, will face a monumental battle against corporations whose profits total into the billions of dollars.
The assistance, knowledge, and resources of an experienced plaintiff’s law firm should be considered when deciding how to fight back against the losses caused by Johnson and Johnson and Bayer. A free, no-obligation consultation can explore whether you have a potential Xarelto claim for your losses or injuries.
