Spiriva – a medication also known by its generic name tiotropium bromide – is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim and co-marketed with Pfizer Inc. for use in the United States.  It is distributed to patients as an inhaler called the “Spiriva HandiHaler,” and the “handihaler” is a breath-actuated, single-dose, dry powder inhaler developed by Boehringer Ingelheim, specifically for the administration of Spiriva.  Spiriva is in a class of medications known as anticholinergic bronchodilators.  This daily single-dose medication is approved for long-term treatment of bronchospasm associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema.  The Spiriva inhaler (Spiriva HandiHaler) was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004.

Two publications from 2008 have reported increased risks for mortality and/or cardiovascular events in patients who have received inhaled anticholinergics such as Spiriva. [1]  More recently,  in June 2011, a paper was published in which it was found that patients taking Spiriva using the delivery system available in Europe had a 52% increase in the risk of death. [2]   Analysis of the data found in the same paper indicates that for patients who had pre-existing cardiac disorders who then took Spiriva for COPD, had an eightfold increase in the risk of death.

If you or a loved one are using the Spiriva inhaler (Spiriva HandiHaler) and experienced any of the following illnesses or injuries, you should visit your healthcare provider immediately to discuss the risks:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Atrial fibrillation
• Death

If a visit to your healthcare provider is warranted, you also owe it to yourself to speak to an experienced pharmaceutical and medical product liability attorney to see if you have a case, and to discuss the possibility of bringing a lawsuit to recover for your damages and injuries. The attorney will be able to ascertain if you have a claim for which a lawsuit can be pursued and whether the case and lawsuit can be brought to a successful settlement, verdict, award or other recovery. The experienced lawyer will also be able to advise you on any deadlines for bringing your legal claim for damages. Please contact the law firm of Ashcraft and Gerel, LLP to discuss your lawsuit with an experienced medical product liability lawyer in our Drug and Medical Product Liability Litigation Department.

The lawyers at Ashcraft and Gerel, LLP have been leaders in pursuing medical product liability lawsuits involving unsafe drugs, implants, and infusions for over 50 years. Our attorneys have successfully brought about verdicts, settlements, awards or other recoveries in lawsuits on behalf of clients who have been injured by Zyprexa, Fen-Phen, Rezulin, Propulsid, Phenylpropanolamine (PPA), Baycol, breast implants and AIDS tainted blood. Although some of these claims and lawsuits resulted in class action settlements, class actions are not the only way these cases are handled. The courts have devised methods to deal with mass torts so that each lawsuit can benefit from information and evidence gathered in other lawsuits nationwide and yet be handled on an individual basis.

We have a toll free number to reach an attorney to answer your questions with regard to your specific case. That number is 1-800-829-7037. Please ask to speak to Robert Samet, and he will place you in touch with one of our drug and medical product liability litigation lawyers. If you would prefer, please feel free to e-mail us. Please be sure to include your name, address, telephone number (if you wish to be called), email address and the exact nature of your question, so that our lawyer can provide you with the specific information you seek.