Elmiron
Elmiron is a bladder pain medication used to treat Interstitial Cystitis (IC), a chronic bladder condition. Recent research linked the drug to degenerative eye disease, leading injured victims to file a series of lawsuits against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
The lawsuits allege that Janssen Pharmaceuticals failed to warn users of the dangerous side effects of Elmiron, thereby knowingly putting consumers at risk of injury.
In 2019, Kaiser Permanente, Emory Eye Center, and Harvard conducted research and clinical studies that showed Elmiron usage could cause maculopathy, resulting in a loss
of central vision.
In line with their research, Kaiser Permanente studies found that 24% of 91 Elmiron users had pigment damage causing poor vision after fifteen years of using Elmiron.
They also discovered a 42% higher toxicity rate in patients that took 1500 mg or more of Elmiron. In addition, Emory Eye Center concluded that Elmiron caused significant eye degeneration and vision loss after seven years of usage, and Harvard research showed severe eye degeneration even in users that had stopped taking Elmiron.
The Elmiron (Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium) Products Liability litigation is currently pending, centralized in the United States District Court District of New Jersey.
Examples of Elmiron Lawsuits
Three lawsuits filed against Janssen Pharmaceuticals include:
Pelczar V. Teva Branded Pharmaceuticals R&D, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Johnson & Johnson
Kimberly Pelczar was the first to file a lawsuit on March 26, 2020, filing the complaint in the U.S. Court for the District of Connecticut. She alleged the defendants misled people who used Elmiron, and the medical community in general, by failing to disclose that the long-term use of Elmiron could lead to retinal damage.
She began using Elmiron in 2015 to treat IC and claims she also began to experience vision problems that same year. She underwent multiple examinations for her vision problems from 2016 to 2019, and in 2019, she received a diagnosis of “permanent retinal injury and vision loss due to Elmiron toxicity.
English V. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Johnson & Johnson
Barbara English filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on May 24, 2020, alleging the defendants failed to exercise ordinary care in the manufacture, sale, labeling, and marketing of Elmiron, thereby willfully thwarting users’ knowledge of the drug’s high risk of unreasonable harm.
She began taking Elmiron in 2001 for bladder problems and started experiencing vision problems in 2017. By 2019, an eye specialist diagnosed her with “permanent retinal injury and vision loss associated with Elmiron.”
Pisco V. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Johnson & Johnson
Tina Pisco filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on May 24, 2020, alleging the defendants’ negligence caused various injuries and vision loss. She began taking Elmiron in 2012 for bladder pain and, in 2018, received a diagnosis of “permanent retinal injury and vision loss associated with Elmiron.”
Elmiron Litigation Status
The Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPMDL) created an MDL on December 15, 2020, in the District of New Jersey for Elmiron lawsuits. The manufacturers and distributors are the main defendants, consisting of the following subsidiaries and parent companies:
The judge overseeing the MDL has held three status conferences thus far on January 8, 2021, February 10, 2021, and March 10, 2021, and will continue to keep a status conference every 30-45 days. These regular hearings allow both sides to provide updates on the status of discovery or evidence collection and address issues as needed to keep the litigation progressing smoothly and timely.
As of August of 2022, the United States District Court of New Jersey has been holding Case Management Conferences approximately twice per month as cases continue to be added to the MDL. As of July 13, 2022, there were 1,149 cases in the federal MDL in addition to 169 state cases, an increase by more than 200 federal cases and 43 state cases since early June.
The parties have selected the following bellwether trials from an initial pool of 20:
- Maria Windham v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, et al, case number 20-cv-14670, selected by the defense and scheduled by the court as the first bellwether trial, to commence in January of 2023.
- Julia Manning, et al. v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al, case number 21-cv-11942, selected by the plaintiffs and scheduled by the court as the third bellwether trial, set to commence in May of 2023.
- Opal Broussard v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, et al, case number 21-cv-02028. However, the court has struck this case from the Bellwether trial pool. The defense will select a replacement case that will be heard second, set to commence in March of 2023.
