Elmiron Macular Degeneration May Have Been Mis-diagnosed As Age-Related

Drug companies should warn doctors and patients of side effects before patients are injured

Thursday, November 5, 2020 - Elmiron, pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS), is a drug manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and used to alleviate pain in the urinary tract and bladder referred to as interstitial cystitis (IC). Users must take Elmiron for up to six months before the drug takes effect. Johnson & Johnson is the only maker of the drug and has made millions of dollars in revenue from its monopoly. Doctors also recommend Elmiron patients implement lifestyle improvement like lightly exercising, eating healthier, and quitting smoking or drinking alcohol. Elmiron is accused of causing macular degeneration, a form of night blindness. Macular degeneration is usually considered age-related and, according to Wikipedia, "is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field." Elmiron also causes early-onset macular degeneration in one or both eyes. Elmiron users that have filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson for failing to warn consumers of the blindness side effects of the drug report having problems reading in less than optimal lighting conditions, difficulty recognizing faces, and sometimes having hallucinations. Macular degeneration is irreversible and doctors advise patients to take the steps necessary to slow the progression of the condition to prevent cataracts and blindness.

A lawsuit filed by a long-term Elmiron user is representative of others that have suffered from using the medication. National Law Review (NLR) reports that the plaintiff accuses the company of failing to warn her and others of the drug's deadly side effects. The suit describes Elmiron as a "dangerously defective prescription drug (that) was designed, marketed, and distribute...while knowing significant risks () were never disclosed to the medical and healthcare community. Further, in her complaint, (the plaintiff) claims Janssen Pharmaceuticals withheld material adverse events and failed to disclose the serious link between Elmiron use and significant visual damage, including pigmentary maculopathy," according to NLR. The lawsuit goes on to state that Janssen failed to mention "permanent vision loss or maculopathy" on their website, prescription guide or other marketing materials. In another lawsuit, National Law Review reports on the filing of an Elmiron lawsuit by a plaintiff who allegedly, "consistently took Elmiron throughout 2001-2018. As a result, the plaintiff suffers from severe visual injuries, including changes in eye color pigment, severe vision loss, loss of night vision, and pigmentary maculopathy."

It is alarming that doctors have prescribed Elmiron to individual patients for decades without regard to the drug's significant side effects. Elmiron received FDA approval back in 1996 and is still the only drug on the market that portends to treat IC. Millions of Americans over the past 25 years may have had their macular degeneration misdiagnosed as being age-related when it was being caused by taking Elmiron. Lawsuits allege Janssen Pharmaceuticals failed to warn doctors and patients of what they knew or had an obligation to have known about Elmiron macular degeneration.

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Lawyers for Elmiron Eye Lawsuits

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