Court Says AstraZeneca, Merck and Takeda Should Face Litigation Over Nexium and Prevacid

A federal judge in New Jersey has recommended that AstraZeneca, Merck and Takeda Pharmaceuticals should face litigation for failure to add warnings on two proton pump inhibitors about the risk of kidney injury.

The case concerns two antacids, AstraZeneca and Merck’s Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium) and Takeda’s Prevacid (lansoprazole).

A complaint by individual plaintiffs alleged that the drugs cause a variety of kidney injuries, including acute interstitial nephritis, acute kidney injury, end-stage renal disease and chronic kidney disease.

The companies argued that there was no scientific evidence available at the time of the initial labeling of the drugs to justify including such warnings.