A flurry of lawsuits have sprung up with patients claiming the drug Elmiron used in treating interstitial cystitis (IC) had caused them to develop vision loss and eye damage. The cases could be heading to trial as early as January 2023.
Over 200 federal Elmiron cases in New Jersey are being overseen by Judge Brian R. Martinotti.
A Case Management Order from May 13, 2021 detailed that Martinotti had directed lawyers to resume general discovery and to present the evidence to Court.
Elmiron has been linked to eye damage after several studies were published showing side effects including pigmentary maculopathy.
Despite the recent added warning for pigmentary maculopathy made in June of 2020, this change doesn’t help the people who have been on the drug potentially as long as it has been on the market. Elmiron has been sold as far back as 1996.
The Lawsuits against Elmiron have alleged the company not only knew about the risk for retinal damage but deliberately withheld knowledge from the public, putting large numbers of users at risk of permanent vision loss all for the sake of profit.
In a lawsuit filed by Beverly N. Zekoff It is stated that “Prior to June 2020, the ‘Warnings: None’ labeling was affixed to the Elmiron products sold to Plaintiff by Defendant’s Teva Branded, Teva USA, Janssen, and J&J,”.