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Eliquis

Blood Thinners Lawsuits Latest News

Eliquis

You may be entitled to compensation for your alleged Eliquis injuries, medical expenses, and pain and suffering, which you can pursue by filing an Eliquis lawsuit against Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

What is Eliquis?

Eliquis (apixaban) is a controversial blood thinner manufactured and marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer, and prescribed to reduce the risk of strokes and blood clots in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, a medical condition characterized by an irregular heartbeat. Since it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013, Eliquis has been touted as a superior alternative to warfarin, a blood thinner that has been on the market for decades, due to the fact that the new-generation drug, like its competitors Pradaxa and Xarelto, does not require regular blood monitoring during treatment.

The way Eliquis and other new-generation anticoagulant drugs work is by thinning patients’ blood, thereby reducing the likelihood of blood clot formation, and decreasing the risk of stroke. However, there is no approved antidote for Eliquis, which means doctors are unable to reverse the blood-thinning effects of the medication in the event of a severe bleeding problem. Prior to clearing Eliquis for the prevention of strokes and blood clots in a-fib patients, the FDA twice delayed the drug’s approval while waiting for the results of ARISTOTLE, a clinical trial that compared the safety and effectiveness of Eliquis to warfarin.

Why is there an Eliquis Lawsuit?

Eliquis and other new-generation blood thinners have been marketed as revolutionary drugs, promising patients significant benefits over older anticoagulants, like warfarin. However, unlike traditional blood thinners, Eliquis and other new-generation anticoagulants were approved without an antidote, which means there is no available drug to stop Eliquis’ potentially life-threatening bleeding problems. Patients taking Eliquis to reduce their risk of strokes and blood clots are now pursuing legal claims against Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, alleging that the drug makers overstated the benefits of Eliquis, while downplaying its potential side effects.

Thousands of similar product liability lawsuits have been brought against the makers of Pradaxa (dabigatran) and Xarelto (rivaroxaban), two popular blood thinners that have been linked to severe bleeding events and deaths in users, alleging that the manufacturers of these controversial drugs failed to warn about their potential risks. In 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim settled more than 4,000 Pradaxa lawsuits for $650 million, and that same year, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidated more than 500 Xarelto lawsuits alleging uncontrollable bleeding, brain hemorrhaging and intestinal bleeding in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Side Effects Linked to Eliquis

Because anticoagulant medications work by thinning the blood, they put users at a greater risk of uncontrollable bleeding complications, which can lead to hospitalization or death. The most common side effects allegedly associated with Eliquis treatment include the following:

  • Internal bleeding requiring hospitalization
  • Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding
  • Rectal bleeding
  • Kidney bleeding
  • Cerebral hemorrhages
  • Death

Internal bleeding is a known side effect of all anticoagulant drugs, including Eliquis, Pradaxa and Xarelto. Unfortunately, because there is no approved antidote for Eliquis, bleeding events associated with the drug cannot be easily controlled

Links to Eliquis Studies Alleging Side Effects

The deciding factor in the FDA’s approval of Eliquis, after delaying its clearance for nine months, was the ARISTOTLE study, which found that a-fib patients taking Eliquis had fewer strokes than those on warfarin. However, this study was found to be incredibly flawed, with serious problems that included inaccurate and missing data, failure to report deaths and other adverse events, patients receiving incorrect medications, and patients receiving incorrect dosages of medications. The study also found that both Eliquis and warfarin put users at risk for gastrointestinal bleeding and other potentially life-threatening side effects.

Recent Eliquis News

The first Eliquis lawsuit was filed in July 2015, on behalf of Donald Herschell, who died while taking the blood thinner, prescribed to him in 2014 to treat his irregular heartbeat. A few months after beginning treatment with Eliquis, Herschell reportedly suffered irreversible gastrointestinal bleeding, and died in a hospital the same day. Herschell’s wife, Deborah, filed the Eliquis lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, alleging that Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, among other things, misled consumers and the medical community about the safety and effectiveness of Eliquis by failing to disclose errors in the ARISTOTLE study. At least two other Eliquis lawsuits have been brought against Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, both in Alabama federal court.

How Do I Join the Eliquis Lawsuit?

Lawsuits brought against Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb over possible Eliquis side effects allege that the manufacturers misrepresented the safety of the medication in direct-to-consumer marketing campaigns, were negligent in their design, research, manufacturing and marketing of Eliquis, failed to warn about the risks associated with an anticoagulant drug that has no antidote, and fraudulently conducted a clinical trial in an effort to conceal the risk of Eliquis side effects. Patients who took Eliquis and have since suffered severe bleeding events requiring hospitalization, and those who have lost loved ones to alleged Eliquis bleeding complications, may be entitled to financial compensation for their injuries, emotional distress, lost earnings and economic damages. Contact a knowledgeable Eliquis attorney today to discuss the possibility of filing an Eliquis lawsuit against Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Blood Thinners

If you took one of these blood thinners, and you have since suffered an irreversible gastrointestinal hemorrhage or another serious side effect, contact a reputable blood thinner injury lawyer to discuss your legal options. With an experienced attorney on your side, you can protect your legal rights and seek fair and timely reimbursement for your injuries and medical expenses.

What are Blood Thinners?

Blood thinners like Eliquis (apixaban), Pradaxa (dabigatran) and Xarelto (rivaroxaban) are prescription medications designed to reduce the risk of stroke and dangerous blood clots in patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a medical condition characterized by an irregular heartbeat. Blood thinners work on chemical reactions in the body to lengthen the amount of time it takes to form a blood clot, which decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke by reducing the formation of blood clots in the arteries and veins. While some blood thinners, like warfarin, have an antidote that can be administered to reverse the blood-thinning effects of the drugs in the event of a bleeding complication., many new-generation blood thinners, like Eliquis and Xarelto, have no antidote.

Why are there Blood Thinner Lawsuits?

Product liability lawsuits brought against the makers of Eliquis, Pradaxa, Xarelto and other new-generation blood thinners allege that the manufacturing companies designed, manufactured and marketed defective medications, failed to adequately warn users about the risks associated with their blood thinner drugs, and overstated the benefits of their medications, while downplaying their risks. As a result, former users of Eliquis, Pradaxa and Xarelto across the country are now pursuing legal claims against the makers of the widely-used blood thinners, seeking compensation for medical bills, lost wages, emotional distress, and other economic damages.

Side Effects Linked to Blood Thinners

By thinning the blood, anticoagulant medications like Eliquis, Pradaxa and Xarelto can effectively reduce the risk of blood clots forming and traveling to the brain, which may cause a stroke, but they have also been linked to serious bleeding problems, often resulting in hospitalization or death. Some of the most common side effects of blood thinners include the following:

  • Internal bleeding requiring hospitalization
  • Cerebral hemorrhages
  • Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding
  • Rectal bleeding
  • Kidney bleeding
  • Death

Links to Blood Thinner Studies Alleging Side Effects

A number of studies published in recent years have highlighted the potential side effects of popular blood thinners like Eliquis, Pradaxa and Xarelto, including research published in the British Medical Journal in April 2015, which found that patients taking Xarelto to reduce their risk of stroke and blood clots faced double the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding complications, compared to patients taking warfarin. In another study published in the medical journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes in January 2016, researchers found that while Pradaxa and warfarin offered similar stroke-prevention efficacy in patients with atrial fibrillation, the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding was higher for patients taking Pradaxa than for those taking warfarin.

When considering approval for the new-generation blood thinner Eliquis, the FDA relied heavily on a clinical trial conducted in China called ARISTOTLE, which compared the safety and effectiveness of the new-generation blood thinner to warfarin, an older medication that has been the go-to blood thinner in the United States for decades. It was only after Eliquis was approved in 2013, that it was discovered the ARISTOTLE clinical trial was heavily flawed, with reports accusing researchers of concealing Eliquis side effects from test results, losing participants, changing and falsifying records, and failing to report a study participant’s death.

Recent Blood Thinner News

In July 2015, the first Eliquis lawsuit was filed against Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, on behalf of Donald Herschell, a man who was prescribed Eliquis in 2014 to treat his irregular heartbeat. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleged that, among other things, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers failed to provide adequate warnings about the risks associated with taking a blood thinner that doesn’t have an antidote. Just a few months after beginning treatment with Eliquis, Donald Herschell suffered an irreversible gastrointestinal hemorrhage and died in the hospital that same day.

Thousands of similar lawsuits have been brought against the makers of Pradaxa and Xarelto, two of the most widely-used blood thinners on the market, alleging that the prescription drugs increased the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening bleeding problems in users. In 2014, Pradaxa maker Boehringer Ingelheim agreed to pay $650 million to resolve more than 4,000 product liability lawsuits alleging gastrointestinal bleeding complications from Pradaxa, and that same year, more than 500 Xarelto lawsuits were consolidated for coordinated pretrial proceedings in the Eastern District of Louisiana, as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL).

How Do I Join the Blood Thinner Lawsuit?

According to the FDA, all blood thinners are known to increase the risk of bleeding, but new-generation blood thinners like Eliquis, Pradaxa and Xarelto have been linked to a higher-than-expected risk of internal bleeding, which is further complicated by the lack of an antidote. If you or a loved one has suffered severe gastrointestinal bleeding complications, and you believe a blood thinner like Eliquis, Pradaxa or Xarelto to be the cause, contact an experienced product liability lawyer today for legal help. You may have grounds to file a lawsuit against the drug manufacturing company, in order to pursue the financial compensation you deserve for your injuries, medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages.