Nexium Kidney Disease Lawsuit Accuses AstraZeneca of Providing Consumers with False, Misleading Safety Information

Published on February 27, 2018 by Sandy Liebhard

A woman from Georgia has filed a new Nexium lawsuit, accusing AstraZeneca PLC of providing consumers with false and misleading information regarding the safety of the popular heart burn medication.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, on February 1^st, Shirlene Bonner began taking Nexium in 2003 and continued to use the proton pump inhibitor through 2015. She claims that her eventual diagnosis of chronic kidney disease was the direct result of Nexium.

“Recent studies have shown the long-term use of PPIs was independently associated with a 20% to 50% higher risk of CKD, after adjusting for several potential confounding variables, including demographics, socioeconomic status, clinical measurements, prevalent co-morbidities, and concomitant use of medications,” Bonner states in her complaint.

“In at least one recent study, the use of PPIs for any period of time, was shown to increase the risk of CKD by 10%,” the lawsuit continues.

Bonner further contends that AstraZeneca has received numerous reports of serious kidney injuries – including chronic kidney disease, kidney failure, acute kidney injury and acute interstitial nephritis – among patients taking Nexium, but took no action to inform the public of these potential risks. Bonner also claims that her illness could have been avoided had AstraZeneca provided her and her doctors with adequate safety warnings.

Proton Pump Inhibitor Litigation

Proton pump inhibitors like Nexium are used by millions of people to control symptoms associated with GERD and other peptic disorders. While they are safest when taken only for short periods of time, some studies have suggested that many patients use the medications for far longer than what is recommended.

Bonner’s case is just one of nearly 650 proton pump inhibitor lawsuits pending in the District of New Jersey, where all federally-filed claims involving the drugs’ link to chronic kidney disease and other serious kidney injuries have been centralized for coordinated pretrial proceedings. In addition to Nexium, other medications involved in the litigation include Prilosec, PrevAcid, Dexilant and Protonix, as well as the over-the-counter brands Nexium 24HR, Prilosec OTC and PrevAcid 24HR.

The federal proton pump inhibitor litigation convened its latest status conference on February 22^nd.  “Science Day” – an event which provided the parties the opportunity to apprise the Court of the medical and scientific issues central to their claims – was held that same day.