Xeljanz and Jakafi Linked to Fatalities

Drug Defect Lawyers Parker Waichman LLP Discuss Janus Kinase Inhibitors’ Link to Serious Illness and Death

According to AJMC.com, a review of the database repository maintained by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to record adverse effects attributed to medications and other therapies, commonly referred to as FAERS, suggests that Janus Kinase inhibitors like Xeljanz (tofacitinib) and Jakafi (ruxolitinib) as a class a prone to cause severe health problems or even death. Specifically, the evidence suggests that Janus kinase inhibitors cause thromboembolic adverse events. Thromboembolic adverse events can lead to serious, debilitating illness and death if untreated.

Parker Waichman LLP’s drug defect attorneys are currently representing clients who were prescribed Janus kinase inhibitors and fell gravely ill or died. Parker Waichman LLP’s drug defect lawyers are no strangers to taking on the powerful and influential international drug manufacturers. Parker Waichman LLP’s drug defect lawyer possess the skill, knowledge, and experience necessary to recover maximum financial compensation for their clients’ losses successfully.

Parker Waichman LLP is a national plaintiff’s law firm that has earned a sterling reputation for their excellence in service by catering to the needs of their clients as well as their attorneys’ high level of advocacy and professionalism. To date, Parker Waichman LLP’s personal injury attorneys have won over $2 billion in financial settlements and judgments pursuing justice for people who sustained physical, emotional, and economic losses due to another’s negligence or a business organization that has manufactured defective goods.

The FDA has not issued any warning about the possible thromboembolic side effects of either Xeljanz or Jakafi. Interestingly, the FDA authored a warning letter for another Janus kinase inhibitor with the generic name of baricitinib based on the FDA’s observation of potential adverse effects. Moreover, regulators from the European Union and Japan require baricitinib-based products to be marketed with a warning drawing physicians’ and patients’ attention to the potential for the patient to suffer a thromboembolic event in those patients who could be at risk for such events.

Researchers looked deeper into adverse events to determine whether any trends emerged from the data. Researchers focused on the drugs tofacitinib, ruxolitinib, and extended-release ruxolitinib. The results were startling. The researchers found that the suspected Janus kinase inhibitors caused pulmonary thrombosis (blood clot in the lungs) in dozens of people. Almost all of those people affected required hospitalization, and two died.

Similarly, people struck by a pulmonary embolism, or a blood clot in the lungs that dislodged and moved to another blood vessel, faced grave health consequences. Researchers found 36 cases of pulmonary embolism suspected to be caused by tofacitinib. Among those cases, 4 people died, 5 faced life-threatening illnesses and another 25 needed hospitalization. For those patients taking ruxolitinib, 55 cases were noted. Out of those 55, 12 people died, 36 required hospitalization, 1 person became disabled, and five others faced a life-threatening situation.

Researchers found that ruxolitinib was the suspected cause of 11 cases of portal vein thrombosis. Nine of those people needed in-patient hospital care, and two died from the illness. Deep vein thrombosis was another serious medical condition that researchers studied. They found deep vein thrombosis occurred in 59 patients who took one of the three suspect drugs. Out of those 59 cases, 13 people died, another 39 were hospitalized, two people became disabled, and four people experienced life-threatening events.

The researchers cited thrombosis as the most frequently cited adverse event. 43 cases were suspected of being caused by tofacitinib, in which two people died, 19 were sent to hospitals, and one person suffered a life-threatening event. Patients taking ruxolitinib numbered 75 adverse events. Hospitals admitted 43 of those cases, while 11 people died, one person became disabled, and there were two reported life-threatening events.

Please visit our page Xeljanz Thromboembolic Injury and Fatal Lung Clot Lawsuit for additional information about filing your Xeljanz claim. 

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If you suffered severe adverse effects from taking a Janus kinase inhibitor or a family member died as a consequence of taking a Janus kinase inhibitor, then you may be eligible to receive a substantial financial award. Contact Parker Waichman LLP’s Janus kinase inhibitor injury lawyers today at 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529). Remember that time is limited so call today.

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