Pradaxa® and Xarelto® have been linked to risk of stroke, serious bleeding and blood clots if not taken properly or monitored by health care providers, particularly in patients with poor kidney function.
Sheller, P.C. attorneys are investigating injuries caused by the blood thinner drug Pradaxa® (dabigatran), manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim. The drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010, according to a report by Reuters, to prevent stroked in patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial defibrillation. Another drug, Xarelto®, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson with Bayer AG for the same purpose is drawing similar scrutiny.
These are the first oral blood thinner medications since warfarin was developed in the 1950’s.
"The good news is you now have an alternative to warfarin," said Dr. Alan Jacobson, director of anti-coagulation services at the Veterans Administration (VA) healthcare system in Loma Linda, California quoted in the Reuters story. "The bad news is you can kill a patient as easily with the new drug as you could with the old drug" if it is not handled properly.
The nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices estimated last month that 542 reports of death associated with Pradaxa® were reported to the FDA in 2011, topping all other medicines, including warfarin, with 72 deaths. – Reuters, June 14, 2012
Some of the potential risks of these drugs are brought on by patients using painkillers or combining with drugs.
For more information, contact the attorneys of Sheller, P.C. at 888-883-2299, or write info@sheller.com.
With these drugs, the problem lies in one key difference between warfarin and this new group of rivals says an article on the pharmaceutical industry website Fierce Pharma: “Warfarin's effects can be quickly reversed with an antidote. That's not true of the new drugs–including Pradaxa®, Xarelto®, and the waiting-in-the-wings Eliquis, from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer.
Patients with these side effects while taking Pradaxa® or Xarelto® should contact their healthcare professional immediately.
If you or someone you know has experienced stroke, serious bleeding or blood clots while taking Pradaxa® or Xarelto®, contact the attorneys of Sheller, P.C. at 888-883-2299, use the inquiry form on this page, or write info@sheller.com. Protect your health now and in the future.
Resources:
Top heart doctors fret over new blood thinners.
Heart docs skeptical of new-generation clotbusters: Familiar with warfarin problems, physicians worry about Pradaxa®, Xarelto® risks http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/heart-docs-skeptical-new-generation-clotbusters/2012-06-14
New blood thinner Pradaxa may cause internal bleeding in the elderly
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