2008 Bringing on More Trasylol Lawsuits

Nashville, TNBayer AG has seen quite a few lawsuits filed against it because of its drug Trasylol. Trasylol is also referred to as a bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor. It is used to slow bleeding during complex surgeries in those patients who may be prone to heavy bleeding.

Basically what it does is slow down what is called fribrinolysis, which is the process the body uses to breakdown any blood clots. The breakdown of those blood clots could result in heavier bleeding, which could be harmful to the patient and result in blood needing to be administered during surgery.

However, it seems that harm still existed, just in another form. It turns out that late 2007 saw the suspension of the drug at the request of the FDA. Some preliminary data had suggested that many patients were experiencing kidney failure along with other effects, such as heart attack and stroke that seemed to show a pattern with Trasylol use. This data was showing an increased risk of death and a Canadian study had to be halted for that very reason.

Yet before Trasylol was ever pulled from the market, a woman by the name of Ada M. Williams had filed a products liability lawsuit against Bayer in January 2007. What is even more alarming is that her lawsuit was not a first. There had been a few lawsuits filed previously in 2006 that cited Trasylol was responsible for a number of health issues in some patients. However, this lawsuit did turn out to be one of the first that Bayer would have to contend with.

In Williams' lawsuit, she claimed that she had went into kidney failure after being given Trasylol during her open-heart surgery and now she has to receive kidney dialysis three times each week. She filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Since then, there have been more lawsuits filed. Some speculate that the drug was pulled because of the lawsuits filed against it. Bayer has claimed that it was pulled because they needed to evaluate it better since studies had shown a possible connection between Trasylol and kidney failure.

Right after the drug was pulled from the market in late 2007, another lawsuit was filed by the widow of Dr. Arthur Feinberg who was administered Trasylol during an open-heart surgery he had in 2005. She alleges that her husband had passed shortly after and believes it is due to Trasylol use.

However, one of the most recent lawsuits takes place in Florida where eight lawsuits have now been filed in Florida federal court. Each is seeking damages from Bayer AG for individuals who had died shortly after receiving Trasylol during their surgeries. They allege that Bayer was selling a defective drug and bothered to not warn patients and healthcare professionals of the risks.

Bayer is still challenging the findings that Trasylol causes kidney damage, despite their own findings in 2006 that showed some of the same results.

By: Ginger Gillenwater