Boehringer facing more than 2,000 U.S. lawsuits over blood thinner

German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim said on Thursday it is facing more than 2,000 lawsuits in the United States over claims its blockbuster drug Pradaxa, the first in a new class of stroke prevention pills, caused severe and fatal bleeding. The unlisted company confirmed the number of cases reported on Thursday by German newspaper Handelsblatt, adding the risk of side effects was known and had to be weighed against the drug’s life saving potential. Like other blood thinners, Pradaxa’s benefit of cutting the rate of fatal or debilitating strokes in the elderly comes at the risk of internal bleeding, which can also cost lives. Boehringer cited a recent study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as showing that Pradaxa users ran a lower risk of severe bleedings than patients on warfarin.