Canadian Class-Action Yasmin Lawsuit Given Go-Ahead

Toronto, ONIt is not just in the United States that Bayer faces lawsuits regarding Yasmin side effects and Yaz side effects. A Canadian judge has now given the go-ahead to form a class-action Yasmin lawsuit against the maker of the birth control pills.

According to Global News (4/18/13), a judge has approved the motion to have lawsuits against Bayer, maker of Yaz and Yasmin birth control, consolidated into a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuits allege that Bayer did not adequately warn about the increased risk of blood clot, stroke, heart attack and gallbladder problems. So far, approximately 2,000 women have contacted the law firm involved in litigation.

Some Yasmin lawsuits against Bayer in the US have already been settled, including claims that patients suffered gallbladder problems after using Yasmin. In March 2013, Bayer agreed to pay as much as $24 million to settle claims of gallbladder injury in Illinois, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Reuters (3/20/13) reports that plaintiffs who had their gallbladders removed would receive $3,000, while those who suffered injury but did not have their gallbladders removed would receive $2,000, although those amounts could decrease if many women file claims. Bayer has also reportedly agreed to pay $1 billion to settle approximately 4,800 claims of blood clots.

Bayer did not admit to any liability in agreeing to the settlement. In an annual report cited by Reuters, Bayer said it was facing approximately 10,000 lawsuits in the United States concerning Yasmin and Yaz.

In April 2012, the FDA announced a label change for all birth control that contained drosperinone, including Yasmin and Yaz. Drospirenone is a synthetic version of progesterone, and its use in birth control pills has been linked in studies to an increased risk of blood clots. Some studies reported up to a three-fold increase in the risk of blood clots when women take drospirenone-containing birth control as compared with other birth control pills.

The US case is In Re: Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, No. 09-md-2100.