More than 160 lawsuits have now been combined into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) against several manufacturers of heartburn medications, referred to as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). The combining of the lawsuits means the litigation should move faster through the civil court process.
The drug manufacturers named in the lawsuit are AstraZeneca, which produces Nexium and Prilosec, and Takeda, which produces Prevacid, and Pfizer which produces Protonix and Nexium 24HR (the over-the-counter version of Nexium). Proctor & Gamble, which produces Prilosec OTC (the over-the-counter version of Prilosec) is also named.
The lawsuits allege that the medications caused serious – sometimes fatal – kidney injuries. Some of the injuries listed in the lawsuits include acute interstitial nephritis (AIN), chronic kidney disease (CKD), kidney failure, and end-stage renal disease.
PPIs reduce the amount of acid that a person’s stomach produces. The first PPI, Prilosec, was approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 1989. In 1992, the first study which found a connection between the drug and acute interstitial nephritis, yet no warnings were issued to consumers by the drug manufacturers. Multiple studies soon followed, confirming the 1992 study that PPIs can cause serious kidney damage. Yet warning labels were not put on these drugs until 2014.
Although they had originally rejected the request to combine all the cases back in February, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) now agreed to the request because of the significant spike in the number of cases filed, going from 15 lawsuits in February to 161 lawsuits now. There are an additional 34 lawsuits that may also be added to the MDL in the future. New Jersey was selected as the court holding jurisdiction of the MDL because over 60 of the lawsuits were filed in that state’s federal court.
In a discussion about the MDL, Attorney Grungo commented, “The JPML made a sound decision combing these lawsuits. There are too many drug companies that fail to warn consumers about the dangers of using their products and the results are often tragic ones. These companies need to be held accountable.”
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