The first personal injury lawsuit has been filed against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis, the makers of the “super-aspirin,” Plavix. The suit alleges the drug companies misled the public and hid the risks of the popular blood thinning drug.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Dorothy Hall, who was prescribed and used Plavix for nearly three years for the purpose of preventing a heart attack or stroke. Ms. Hall then suffered two separate strokes, each requiring medical attention.

Ms. Hall’s lawsuit against the makers of Plavix comes just days after third-party payors announced they were filing a class action against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis, which alleges that Plavix causes much higher risks of heart attack, stroke, internal bleeding and death than previously reported. This suit also alleges that the companies knew this information and had been warned by the FDA to stop its misleading advertising.

Plavix has been heavily marketed for years to as a “super-aspirin” that would give patients greater cardiovascular benefits than daily aspirin while still being safer on a person’s stomach. However, a study published in April 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine stated that “although doctors believe the combination of Plavix and aspirin should reduce the risk of a second heart attack, the combination not only does not help but it nearly doubles the risk of death, heart attack or stroke in people with no history of heart disease.”

One of the lawyers involved in the personal injury lawsuit against the makers of Plavix said that “[BMS and Sanofi] misinformed physicians about who should be given Plavix and about the proper applications for the drug, causing people to die and be seriously injured as a result.”

Source: Charles Kelly, “Plavix Patients’ Lawsuit Comes on Heels of Class Action Suit Announced by Third-Party Payors Last Week,” Forbes.com. October 31, 2006, accessed November 1, 2006.