The lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk are no longer investigating Zelnorm Lawsuits.  The information on this page is provided for information purposes only.

Zelnorm, a medication for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), has been removed from the market due to serious and potentially life threatening problems. As a result of the manufacturer’s failure to properly warn about the dangers of the drug, Zelnorm lawsuits were being reviewed nationwide. Zelnorm side effects increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other potentially fatal injuries.

The Zelnorm lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. previously investigated cases for users who suffered from any of the following injuries as a side effect:

  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Angina (chest pain which can become a heart attack)
  • Gastrointestinal injuries
  • Ischemic colitis (inflammation of the colon)

ZELNORM MEDICATION INFORMATION

Zelnorm (generic name tegaserod maleate) is manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation.  The medication was approved by the FDA in July 2002 for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome  (IBS) and severe constipation.  In March 2007, the FDA requested that sales of Zelnorm be halted as a result of safety concerns when research demonstrated that the IBS drug significantly increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, angina and death.

>>INFORMATION: Zelnorm side effects

At the time it was removed from the market, Zelnorm was one of the top 200 most prescribed brand-name medications in the United States, with over 2.6 million prescriptions written during 2006.  The IBS drug generated sales of $561 million worldwide in 2006, with $488 million from sales in the United States.  This represented a 34% increase in total sales over 2005. Many suspect that the manufacturer’s failure to properly warn of the dangers of Zelnorm placed profits before patient safety.

ZELNORM CLASS ACTION SUITS

The FDA recommended that Zelnorm be removed from the market after reviewing data from 29 different clinical trials involving over 18,000 patients.  Analysis demonstrated that users of Zelnorm experience heart attacks, strokes and angina at a rate 7 to 8 times greater than those who took a placebo.

The findings of this analysis are particularly troubling since Zelnorm is not a very effective drug and users are generally younger, otherwise healthy individuals.  The FDA realized that the medication provides little or no benefit for most users and the risk of death or serious injury far outweighed the benefits in treating non-life threatening irritable bowel syndrome.

>>INFORMATION: Zelnorm problems

This clinical data which lead to Zelnorm’s removal from the market has been available to Novartis for some time, yet they failed to recognize the dangers of the drug and warn that use of the medication is associated with this high number of serious cardiac events.  As a result of the ineffectiveness of the drug and the serious injuries it has caused for users, Zelnorm class action suits and individual lawsuits are being reviewed.

New cases are no longer being accepted. This page is maintained for informational purposes only.