Janssen Sued Once More Over Xarelto Injury Claims

Janssen’s blockbuster Xarelto is the target of another liability lawsuit, this time by 12 plaintiffs in California federal court who claim the blood thinner caused gastrointestinal bleeding.

The lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages, accuses Janssen of failing to warn customers of the drug’s risks and marketing a defective product. It was filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Specifically, the plaintiffs argue that Janssen should have included a black box warning on Xarelto (rivaroxaban) noting the chance of uncontrollable bleeding and that, unlike other anticoagulants such as warfarin, there is no antidote to stop that bleeding. They also allege Janssen should have required that Xarelto patients have their blood monitored on a regular basis.

If properly warned, the plaintiffs say they never would have taken Xarelto in the first place.

The plaintiffs stress that this is far from the first of such claims brought against Xarelto. While filing in California as Mary Walker et al v. Janssen, they request that their case be transferred to the eastern district of Louisiana federal court to join an ongoing case there, In Re Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Liability Litigation.

Janssen maintains that Xarelto carries the appropriate safety warnings.

Janssen parent company Johnson & Johnson reported $1.5 billion in Xarelto sales last year. — Bryan Koenig