Aug. 27, 2012
While Pradaxa may be effective an effective medication for reducing a patient’s risk of stroke and blood clots, it may also put those who are taking it at risk of suffering a potentially fatal bleeding event. Despite Boehringer Ingelheim, the drug’s manufacturer, acknowledging the risk several years ago, results from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety review announced in December have yet to be released.
Pradaxa is an anticoagulant drug that is part of the direct thrombin inhibitor family of medications. Since the medication hit the market in Oct. 2010, more than 1.1 million prescriptions for the medication had been written. Within a year, dozens of reports had been filed with the FDA claiming patients had died as a result of bleeding while taking the drug. By Nov. 2011, Boehringer had received as many as 260 reports of fatalities associated with Pradaxa.
Reports of Pradaxa drug injury and death prompted the FDA to announce nine months ago that they would conduct a review of the medication, yet no warning or recall has been announced since.
The Colorado Personal Injury Lawyers with the McDivitt Law Firm understand how difficult losing a loved one due to a drug injury can be. That is why the firm encourages anyone who has suffered a bleeding event while taking an anticoagulant, such as Pradaxa, to contact an attorney immediately.
