Being one of the newest anticoagulants that are available in the market, Xarelto is a famous blood thinner in the US. It basically prevents the formation of clots in and around the heart thereby reducing the chances of heart attack.

One thing that differentiates Xarelto from its counterparts is that unlike the traditional anticoagulants – almost all of whom are prescribed by the doctors according to the patient, this medicine has a uniform dosage for all of them.

According to various reports, this medicine has garnered huge success on the worldwide scale with more than 90, 00,000 people still using it. Some of those people – after taking the medicine, suffered from various heart diseases ranging from the clotting of blood in their veins or legs to internal bleeding and gastrointestinal problems.

Thus, the functionality of this drug hasn’t gone according to the plan in all the cases. One of the worst ramifications of this diseases have resulted in the affected patients being sent to the hospital after they suffered internal bleeding.

Since being approved by the US FDA in 2011, there have been more than 3500 lawsuits filed against the Xarelto manufacturers.

In most of those cases, the reason for filing the suit has been the alleged inability of its manufacturers to explain the side effects of this medicine. The latest lawsuit was filed in Ohio from a couple who alleged that the wife has acquired gastrointestinal disease after taking the medicine for only two months.

Looking at the lawsuits and it was Virginia Stunteneck – a resident of Kentucky, who became the first person to file a lawsuit against the drug in the U.S. Before filing the suit, he was admitted to the hospital as a result of stomach bleeding.

Taking into consideration the personal account of Mr. Stunteneck and he accused the manufacturers of Xarelto of deliberately withholding the information of their medication.

The lawyers of the plaintiff accused that despite knowing the deadly consequences of this disease, the drug giants didn’t decide to put the drug on the market.

Xarelto might suffer in the long run

In addition to the deadly effects of the medicine, the decision of the jury in the case of another drug manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim, would cause more headache for the manufacturers of Xarelto. In that lawsuit, the drug giant was forced to give away more than $600 Million to settle the suits that were leveled against them for internal bleeding which was instigated by their drug, Pradaxa.

Another dangerous proposition for Bayer – the manufacturer of Xarelto, is the ever-rising scale of injuries that have been caused by their product.

As mentioned earlier, this drug was introduced in 2011, however, most of the lawsuits have come against the drug in the last 1 and a half year. Therefore, the probability that similar lawsuits are in the making couldn’t be negated.

Xarelto was originally built as an alternative to warfarin

Xarelto was originally intended as an alternative to the half century old medicine, warfarin. The latter drug also induced internal bleeding in the patients – a fact which led to its downfall. However, one thing that mitigated the damage caused by warfarin was the presence of an antidote.

This antidote was put on the market to stop the internal bleeding that was caused by this medicine. The importance of this antidote was immense as in its absence, the bleeding would go uncontrolled as a result of which the patients could face death.

Symptoms of Xarelto

In addition to their inability of handling the doctors the necessary information to deal with the bad effects of Xarelto, the manufacturers still haven’t released the symptoms that would alert the patients that the medicine has gone rogue.

Therefore, this factor has infuriated its large consumer base. However, if you’re taking the medicine as a precaution, below mentioned are some of the symptoms …

• Incessant Nosebleeds
• Headaches
• Coughing up blood
• Vomiting blood
• Vaginal bleeding
• Red urine

Xarelto could rake in billions per annum in the coming years

Looking at the volume of its sales and it is safe to say that the medicine has what it takes to handle a multi-billion dollar verdict. In its very first year of inception, the medicine raked in $430-Million alone in Europe and $240-Million in the U.S.

Extrapolating those figures and it is safe to project that the medicine would fill the coffers of its manufacturers with more than $3.5Billion per annum. Thus, even if a multi-billion dollar verdict goes against them, it will be reminiscent of a bucket in a drop.

A big setback for Xarelto

While the lawsuits have done enough to dent its reputation, the floodgates were opened against Xarelto after the FDA decided not to allow patients who are suffering from acute coronary syndrome to use this medicine.

In addition, the FDA ruled that Xarelto couldn’t be used for the prevention of heart attack, due to the lack of data available regarding this subject.

However, having said all that, there is nobody denying the fact that Xarelto has acted as a life saver for many of its patients. Thus, if you’re using the medicine and feel that this medicine isn’t causing any sort of harm, you could go on taking this medicine.