AstraZeneca Agrees to $425 Million for PPI Lawsuits

Drug manufacturer AstraZeneca has agreed to pay 425 million dollars to settle thousands of drug injury lawsuits for kidney injuries. The payout will settle approximately 11,000 lawsuits filed by people who took Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) heartburn medications made by AstraZeneca.

The drug injury lawsuits claimed that the proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) medications manufactured by AstraZeneca and others may cause kidney injury. These injuries may develop into chronic kidney disease (CKF), chronic renal failure (CRF) and end -stage renal disease (ESRD) which may require dialysis. Some studies have linked PPI medications to an increased risk of early death.

The $425 million settlement is expected to resolve about 11,000 two separate state drug injury claims in Delaware and New Jersey but is only one of several settlements already made. Under the direction of plaintiff’s attorneys, Seeger Weiss LLP thousands of injured consumers have successfully sought compensation for their kidney injuries associated with PPI use. Earlier agreements were reached with GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Procter & Gamble for their versions of PPIs sold by prescription or over-the-counter.

A third case filed in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana is expected to go to trial in April 2024 and a fifth drug manufacturer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, has yet to settle any of their cases. The PPI kidney injury lawsuits are separate from other heartburn drug lawsuits filed over Zantac and generic ranitidine’s possible contamination with a probable carcinogenic chemical known as NDMA.