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TheProductLawyers.com reports on recent research which may show a potential link between the use of Xarelto and serious health risks which have been claimed by plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) 2592 against the manufacturers of Xarelto—Bayer AG and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Published in the pages of the June 2015 issue of JAMA Ophthalmology and the April 2015 issue of the British Medical Journal, both studies indicate an increased potential for gastrointestinal bleeding events and vitreous hemorrhages, especially in patients who switched from traditional anticoagulants to Xarelto.

Consolidation Of Lawsuits

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) combined more than 2,800 federally-filed lawsuits to form MDL 2592, on the basis of common allegations. These include exposure to an increased risk for catastrophic bleeding events. A similar mass tort program representing 550 individual suits has been consolidated by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. While these litigations represent different groups of plaintiffs, the allegations they make are almost identical.

Study Concludes Risk Of Vitreous Hemorrhages

In the wake of mounting negative opinion against Xarelto, Drs. John C. Hwang and Judy H. Hun elected to conduct an empirical study. Drawing on patients from their own practice with an age range between the 70s and 80s, the doctors observed certain trends. In patients who had switched from a traditional blood thinner to Xarelto, the potential for injury was notable. They stated, “In all cases, an acute vitreous hemorrhage occurred shortly after rivaroxaban (Xarelto) treatment was initiated.”

Second Study Concludes Risk Of Stomach Bleeds

The second study, with a far broader scope, examined more than 46,000 patients who used either traditional or new-generation anticoagulants. They felt it worthy of comment that those taking Xarelto were more than twice as likely to experience a stomach bleed when compared with those taking warfarin. When the available research is compared with the claims of the plaintiffs in MDL 2592 and the mass tort program, the potential link between Xarelto and an elevated risk for catastrophic bleeding events appears to be substantiated.

As MDL 2592 nears bellwether trials, plaintiffs are confident that additional cases will be added to their litigation. Judge Eldon Fallon has been appointed to preside over the case in the near future.

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