On October 19, 2010, the FDA approved Pradaxa for use as an anti-clotting drug to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (a type of irregular heartbeat). The German pharmaceutical manufacturer, Boehringer Ingeheim, offered it as a safer and easier-to-use alternative to warfarin (Coumadin), the most commonly prescribed blood thinner, because it requires less monitoring and has fewer dangerous drug interactions.
Two years later, Pradaxa has brought in more than $1 billion in sales, but there have been more than 500 deaths linked to the drug in the United States alone. In 2011 Pradaxa was linked to more reports of injury or death than any of the 800 plus drugs regularly monitored by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a nonprofit organization that monitors drug safety. As the New York Times noted in an article published on November 2, 2012,
a chorus of complaints has risen from doctors, victims’ families and others in the medical community who worry that the approval process [by the FDA] was not sufficiently rigorous because it allowed a potentially dangerous drug to be sold without an option for reversing its effects.
It turns out that taking this drug can cause serious bleeding events that, once started, cannot be stopped because Pradaxa has no antidote!
Terrell • Hogan attorneys Wayne Hogan and Chris Shakib are currently investigating claims against the manufacturer of Pradaxa, and they will make more information available as new studies about the drug are published.
If you or someone you know has been injured by Pradaxa, please call Terrell • Hogan 722-2228 (in Jacksonville) or 1-888-244-5557 (toll free).