Lawsuit Over Nexium Side Effects Says Heartburn Drug Led To CKD, Reduced Kidney Function

According to allegations raised in a product liability lawsuit filed against AstraZeneca, side effects of Nexium caused a Louisiana woman to suffer serious kidney problems, including chronic kidney disease (CKD) and reduced renal function. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Evelyn Brunet in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on May 23, indicating that although the drug maker knew about the risk of severe kidney injuries linked to the popular heartburn drug, AstraZeneca failed to warn consumers and patients, continuing to provide false and misleading safety information.

Nexium (esomeprazole) is one of the most recognized brand-name medications on the market in the United States, used by millions of Americans for treatment of heartburn and acid reflux. It is part of a larger class of medications, known as proton pump inhibitors, which also includes the blockbuster treatments Prilosec, Protonix, Prevacid, Dexilant and others.

Since AstraZeneca has promoted their medication as safe and effective, and it is widely believed to carry few serious side effects, many individuals remain on Nexium long-term, using the drug for years without any attempt to reduce reliance on the medication. However, in recent years, serious concerns have emerged about risks that users may be more likely to experience severe and potentially life-threatening kidney problems.

Brunet indicates that she used Nexium and other PPIs from about 2009 through 2014. However, she indicates that she was never warned of the potential risk to her kidneys.

According to the complaint, Brunet has developed chronic kidney disease (CKD) and life-threatening reduced kidney functions, which she directly relates to her use of Nexium.

“Defendants concealed and continue to conceal their knowledge of PPIs’ unreasonably dangerous risks from Plaintiff, her physicians, other consumers, and the medical community,” Brunet states in her lawsuit. “Specifically, Defendants failed to adequately inform consumers and the prescribing medical community about the magnified risk of kidney injuries related to the use of Nexium.”

The lawsuit indicates that AstraZeneca knew about the risk for years due to adverse event reports and other research, but continued to deceive doctors and patients about the risks.

In an independent study published by the medical journal CMAJ Open in April 2015, researchers found that users of PPI medications were 3 times more likely to suffer acute interstitial nephritis, which involves inflammation of the kidney. In addition, the study found that users were 2.5 times more likely to develop acute kidney injury, which involves an abrupt loss of kidney function.

This research was followed by a study published last year in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine, which also found an increased risk of chronic kidney disease with the heartburn medications, indicating that users of Nexium, Prilosec and other PPI may be 50% more likely when compared to non-users.

In April 2016, researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs found that users of Nexium, Prilosec or other PPIs may be 96% more likely to develop renal failure and 28% more likely to develop chronic kidney disease after five years of use.

The case joins a growing number of Nexium lawsuits filed in recent months, as well as other Prilosec lawsuits, Protonix lawsuits, Prevacid lawsuits and Dexilant lawsuits filed against makers of these similar proton pump inhibitors.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation rejected a request to consolidate all federal proton pump inhibitor kidney damage lawsuits before one judge for pretrial proceedings, saying that there were too many different competing drug makers involved in the cases to justify coordinated discovery at this time. Therefore, the lawsuit filed by Burnet, as well as other cases filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide, are moving forward as individual claims, without coordinated discovery.

As heartburn drug injury lawyers continue to review and file cases, it is expected that several thousand of similar chronic kidney disease lawsuits and other claims over side effects of PPI medications could be filed in the coming months.