Beovu is an eye injection that was supposed to help improve vision. Instead, many patients lost their vision or went blind due to eye inflammation, retinal vasculitis, and other injuries.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Beovu induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with vision loss or blindness, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Class Action Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
What is Beovu?
Beovu (brolucizumab) is an eye injection for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (commonly called “wet AMD”). This eye disorder causes blurry vision or a blind spot in the middle of the field of vision.
What is the Problem?
Beovu is a relatively new drug, but it is the only drug in its class that is linked to a vision-threatening eye disease called retinal vasculitis, which involves severe inflammation of the retina. The symptoms include blurry vision, blind spots, distorted vision, vision loss, eye pain, and more.
What Happened?
Beovu was approved by the FDA in late 2019. In its first year on the market in the U.S., dozens of patients have suffered blindness or severe vision loss due to side effects. The problem was first identified in February 2020, when eye experts with the American Society of Retinal Specialists reported that several patients lost their vision after being treated with Beovu: 14 patients developed retinal vasculitis, and 11 of them suffered severe vision loss.
Other Medications Not Linked to Retinal Vasculitis
Unlike Beovu, retinal vasculitis is a very unusual side effect from other drugs in the same class, which are known as anti-VEGF medications. These other anti-VEGF medications for wet macular degeneration include:
- Macugen (pegaptanib)
- Avastin (bevacizumab)
- Lucentis (ranibizumab)
- Eylea (aflibercept)
These medications work by temporarily stopping the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye. Because these abnormal blood vessels eventually grow back, the injections must be repeated. Before Beovu, most anti-VEGF injections had to be repeated every 4-6 weeks. Beovu is unique beause it is given in 3-month intervals vs. 4-6 weeks.
FDA Updates Warning Label for Beovu
In June 2020, the FDA approved a new warning label for Beovu with “retinal vasculitis” and “retinal vascular occlusion” on the list of potential side effects. Unfortunately, these warnings came too late for many patients who were injected with Beovu and lost their vision.
Were You Injured by Beovu?
A growing number of patients have accused Novartis of failing to warn that Beovu can permanently damage vision due to side effects like retinal vasculitis. Tragically, many patients thought Beovu would help improve their vision — but instead, they lost their vision completely.
Beovu Eye Injuries & Side Effects
- Vision Loss
- Blindness
- Retinal Artery Occlusion
- Occlusive Retinal Vasculitis
- Retinal Vasculitis
- Intraocular Inflammation
- Eye Inflammation
- Uveitis
- Other Eye Problems
Risk-Factors for Beovu Vision Loss & Blindness
Patients who have the highest risk of eye injuries from Beovu are those who had prior inflammation in their eyes and/or vascular occlusion during the 12 months before their 1st injection of Beovu.
Source: “Novartis identifies possible risk factors for Beovu patients”— November 14, 2020 (Reuters)
Can I Join a Class Action?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is nationally recognized as a class action law firm, but we are not filing a Beovu class action. Instead, we are filing individual Beovu lawsuits for patients who lost their vision or developed severe eye injuries, vision loss, or blindness due to Beovu.
About Class Actions
Class action lawsuits are useful for large groups of people who are seeking a relatively minor payout, such as a refund for a defective product. However, class actions are not commonly used when a lot of people have been seriously injured by a dangerous drug or product.
Why Our Law Firm is Filing Individual Lawsuits as Opposed to a Class Action
The problem with class actions is that everyone who joins the lawsuit must share the payout. This can be a disadvantage for individuals who have suffered far more severe injuries than other people in the lawsuit.
Our lawyers are focusing on individual Beovu lawsuits for patients with the most severe injuries. If you join this litigation, we may be able to help you seek financial compensation for your eye injuries, disabilities, medical bills, lost income, decreased quality of life, and more.
Do I have a Beovu Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Beovu induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with vision loss or blindness, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Class Action Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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The Schmidt Firm, PLLC has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs' law firms and handles cases in all 50 states. We are very proud of our legal achievements, but equally self-respecting of our firm's reputation for providing personal attention to each and every client we represent.
