Thousands of Elmiron Users May Experience Blindness

Janssen Pharmaceuticals is being accused of failing to warn patients of what they knew or should have known about Elmiron's heinous side effect

Monday, July 27, 2020 - Thousands of American women with interstitial cystitis (IC), a condition that causes pain in the abdominal area, are prescribed Elmiron (pentosan polysulfate sodium) for discomfort. According to the official company website "IC is a chronic, yet manageable, bladder condition, characterized by bladder or pelvic pain, pain during or after sexual intercourse, and urinary urgency and frequency. IC may be caused by a breakdown of the protective lining of the bladder, which may allow irritating substances in the urine to aggravate and inflame the bladder wall, resulting in pain." Elmiron is the only drug on the market currently approved to treat this condition, yet studies have shown that the Elmiron may cause damage to the eye's retina, the thin layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye on the inside, leading to blindness in patients that have taken the medication for some years.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals is estimated to have earned $150 million per year in profits from the sale of Elmiron since the FDA approved the drug in 1996. According to the National Review, hundreds of thousands of women have taken Elmiron to this day without warning. The Review cites studies that claim up to a quarter of all Elmiron users have suffered eye damage to some degree. While losing one's eyesight is considered severe, Elmiron also carries other significant side effects. "The most common side effects are hair loss, diarrhea, nausea, blood in the stool, headache, rash, upset stomach, abnormal liver function tests, dizziness, and bruising," according to Ortho Elmiron.com. Thousands of Elmiron patients have filed lawsuits against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, for failing to warn them of the potential for the drug to cause their blindness. If you or a loved one have taken Elmiron and have developed eye problems, you may want to contact an Elmiron Eye Damage Lawyer to file a claim against Janssen and Johnson & Johnson.

One such lawsuit was recently filed by a young woman who claims, according to NR that she developed "pigmentary maculopathy" and "permanent retinal injury in both eyes" from taking Elmiron for six years. The Review of Ophthalmology describes pigmentary maculopathy as, "A unique condition strongly associated with chronic exposure to the IC drug PPS." The plaintiff accused Janssen of failing to warn patients that the drug was capable of rendering a person permanently and irreversibly blind. The National Review reports that the lawsuit alleges, "dangerously defective prescription drug was designed, marketed, and distributed...while knowing significant risks that were never disclosed to the medical and healthcare community." Another plaintiff that has lost her eyesight has filed suit recently. "As of June 8, 2020, Valerie Hull has filed a personal injury lawsuit against manufacturers of Elmiron. Hull consistently took Elmiron throughout 2001-2018. As a result, Ms. Hull suffers from severe visual injuries, changes in eye color pigment, severe vision loss, loss of night vision, and pigmentary maculopathy."

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