More Women, Families Filing Yaz & Yasmin Lawsuits

July 31st, 2009. By LucyC

The media has been full of reports of lawsuits filed against Bayer recently, all related to the company’s oral contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin.

This week alone six lawsuits were filed in Toledo. The allegations in these suits focus on misrepresentation of the adverse effects associated with the pill. Those adverse effects would include stroke, embolism and other life-threatening events. According to the suits, Bayer did not advertise proper warnings and did not adequately disclose the potential risks. One of the suits was brought by the family of a 25-year old mother who died from a stroke in 2006, allegedly while taking Yaz. 

Between the first quarter of 2004 and the third quarter of 2008 reports indicate that more than 50 Yasmin- or Yaz-related incidences of death were filed with the FDA, one involved a 17-year old woman. The causes of death allegedly involved pulmonary embolisms, stroke and cardiac arrests. 

It’s not surprising, then to read that more Yaz- and Yasmin-related lawsuits could be coming down the pipe. Some reports indicate that the number of lawsuits has already increased by a third this year, since the FDA issued a third warning to Bayer regarding the company’s advertisements and marketing of the oral contraceptives. The letters reportedly indicated that the ads for Yaz overstated the benefits of the drug and either downplayed or neglected to mention any potentially serious side effects, which is what the Toledo lawsuits allege.

Following pressure from states attorneys, as well as the FDA, Bayer did agree to spend $20 million on a corrective advertising campaign. My question is, if indeed these lawsuits hold any weight, why didn’t Bayer spend that money on developing a safer birth control pill in the first place?

Tags: Yasmin, Yaz

This was posted on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Drugs/Medical . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.