Xarelto is a popular new anticoagulant that doctors are being sold under the pretense that it requires less monitoring than other anticoagulants in the market. However, the risk to patients is great, should the levels of Xarelto become uncontrolled. This has resulted in a number of people filing a Xarelto lawsuit against the manufacturer.
“There are serious consequences to patients, if the amount of this drug in their system becomes too great,” commented Ned McWilliams, a partner with the Levin, Papantonio law firm who practices in the areas of bad drug and defective device litigation. “That’s why it’s so important that testing be advised by the manufacturer, but it isn’t.”
One of the major selling points of Xarelto is that it is promised to require less testing than its competitors. However, going without that testing puts patients using the drug at a significant risk. There is no antidote for Xarelto. Should a patient’s blood become too saturated, they are at the mercy of the drugs side effects until it leaves the body by natural means.
The risks associated with Xarelto include internal bleeding, hemorrhage, stroke and death.
“Unfortunately, it can often be the case that manufacturers will make grand promises, as we may be seeing here, in order to increase sales of their product,” Mr. McWilliams added. “When that happens, the patients are the ones left taking all of the risk; it’s their lives in the balance.”
In the second quarter of 2013 alone, sales of Xarelto were reported as exceeding 237% increase over the 2012 and having earned over $200 million. The drug is making Bayer a killing.
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.
