Manufacturers of Pradaxa ‘Tried to Suppress’ Internal Report on Its Harmful Effects

We’ve known for many years that the manufacturers of drugs are more interested in making millions of dollars than in protecting consumers who use their products.

Further evidence of the lengths these companies will go to put profit above safety is provided in a recent article in the New York Times.

I’ve read a lot about the dangers of the blood-thinning drug Pradaxa and represented people who have been hurt by dangerous drugs. It seems the makers of Pradaxa are less keen for people to read about the drug’s side effects. The report in the New York Times stated the German company Boehringer Ingelheim, was so concerned an internal research paper would hit drug sales that some employers pressurized the author to change it.

They went even further and wanted the report to be quashed altogether, according to recently unsealed legal documents.

The New York Times reported the documents were made public last week by a federal judge in Illinois who is overseeing thousands of lawsuits that have been brought by patients and their families, who say Boehringer Ingelheim, failed to properly warn patients about the risks of taking the drug that’s meant to protect against stroke risk.

Those risks include fatal bleeding, according to the lawsuits. Pradaxa has been prescribed to 850,000 patients, but linked to more than 1,000 deaths.

The other big number in the equation is the profit margin. Pradaxa has brought in more than $2 billion in sales in the United States, according to the research firm IMS Health.

I believe a third figure will soon come into play; the size of the payouts to patients who have brought lawsuits and the families of those who say Pradaxa has led to the loss of a loved one.

Last year I reported on how Johnson & Johnson had set aside $2.5 billion to patients whose artificial hips had failed with excruciating consequences. We could be talking about big figures in the latest round of product liability lawsuits.

Patients who claim to have suffered terrible consequences from taking Pradaxa and the families of those who have lost a loved one, deserve another multi-billion dollar payout.

If you have been harmed by a pill or harmful drug, call our Virginia dangerous drugs attorneys today at 757.455.0077 or see CooperHurley.com