Birmingham, ALA lawsuit is underway for people around the nation that have sustained damage to their kidneys from taking Trasylol. The drug Trasylol is manufactured to keep bleeding to a minimum while patients undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery (also known as CABG). A large number of cases of kidney damage have developed from usage of the drug. When 60 Minutes did an expose' on the drug, it was alleged that some 22,000 people could have been saved from dying. The FDA allegedly needed to be more expedient in removing the drug from shelves in 2006 to have prevented the deaths.
There are several lawsuits that are being launched. Some are adding up into tens of millions of dollars. This is both for alleged negligence on the part of Bayer AG. Other lawsuits are focusing on the loss of lives due to the use of Trasylol.
Trasylol is also knows as Aprotinin, and it is alleged that Bayer AG had held back private studies it conducted on the drug from the FDA in 2006. The information was allegedly omitted from an advisory panel meeting that took place with the FDA and Bayer AG in September, 2006. Due to the alleged omission of information, Trasylol was marketed until November, 2007. The FDA allegedly mandated that marketing for the drug stop immediately that month both in the United States and around the world. Those involved with the lawsuit feel that many lives could've been saved had this information been furnished to the FDA in a timely fashion. Many allegedly believe that Bayer AG needs to be called to task and held accountable for not furnishing this knowledge to the FDA.
Medical experts allegedly believe that sometimes drugs that are newer than drugs that have been around for several decades are too easily trusted. Instead of using the tried and true medications, drugs with little to no testing are used without many questions from the medical community. Many times the newer drugs are embraced with open arms because of the intense marketing campaigns that are used to launch them onto the market. The medical community allegedly falls for the same hype as regular consumers watching medical marketing ads.
Most people affected by the kidney damage were allegedly never made aware that Trasylol was used on them while undergoing surgery. Some experts allege that the drug has been known to have risk factors dating back to the 1980's. It is alleged that the Bayer AG Company did not ensue any studies in the early years of touting the drug. Additional alleged studies have shown that Trasylol is especially harmful during certain surgical protocols. One of the studies was allegedly published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January, 2006. This study of five thousand patients was a cross-section over seventeen countries. Within the findings of the study it is allegedly indicated that Trasylol posed double the threat of kidney damage to patients receiving the drug. A study called BART (Blood Conservation using Antifibrinolytics in a Randomized Trial) in Canada, allegedly kept the drug at bay when it was shown to have an elevated risk for death when pitted against other drugs back in October, 2006. Trasylol was allegedly originally approved by the FDA to be marketed in 1993.
By Delsia Hartford 
