The pharmaceutical Elmiron came onto the market in 1996 to treat interstitial cystitis (IC), a urinary tract ailment that causes pain in the abdomen, pelvic, and genital regions. But the drug has been linked to vision problems that can become severe.
Specifically, Elmiron, known scientifically as pentosan polysulfate sodium, has been associated with maculopathy, also known as macular degeneration, which is a gradual loss of central vision that can result in severe vision impairment and even blindness.
Symptoms can occur as soon as three years after patients begin Elmiron treatment, though symptoms generally occur long after using the drug, with one study pegging the median usage before vision problems occur at 14.5 years.
People who took Elmiron or are still using the medication who have suffered from macular degeneration may have grounds for an Elmiron lawsuit and should consult with an attorney. Exceptionally equipped to deal litigation involving vision problems associated with Elmiron use is Kline & Specter, one of the nation’s largest plaintiffs law firms, with 55 attorneys including five who are also medical doctors – the most in the United States. The firm provides free case evaluations.
Kline & Specter has also had great success in litigation against large corporations, particularly Johnson & Johnson, whose subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals manufactures Elmiron.
The firm’s lawyers in 2020 won an $8 billion verdict in a case involving Janssen’s anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, which produced breast tissue in young males, a condition known as gynecomastia. In other cases, its attorneys won verdicts of $120 million, $80 million, $57.1 million and $40 million against another J&J subsidiary in transvaginal mesh litigation.
Janssen tried to bring Elmiron to the market in 1991 but failed to win approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for five years over a lack of evidence of the drug’s efficacy.
Kline & Specter handles cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York. For cases outside those states, Kline & Specter works with local attorneys in each state as applicable.