German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim is facing more than 2,000 lawsuits in the United States over claims its blockbuster drug Pradaxa caused severe and fatal bleeding, Newsmax Health reports. 

The 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. "We are certain that we can show in the legal cases that we have worked very carefully and responsibly in research, development and marketing of Pradaxa," the company said in a written statement.

Pradaxa was the first to market in a promising new class of medicines designed to replace decades-old warfarin to prevent strokes in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation.