Yasmin Side Effects Prompt New Warnings in Europe

Barmen, GermanyBayer Pharmaceuticals will continue selling its popular Yasmin birth control in Switzerland, but will be required to update its black box warning due to a mounting number of lawsuits that stem from the medication's numerous side effects.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">The updated warnings will bear more specific information relating to the medication's potential to elevate a user's risk of developing blood clots. These blood clots have been linked to serious and life-threatening conditions, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolisms (PE) and gallbladder complications, which have been known to cause strokes, heart attacks and death.

In the US, Bayer faces numerous lawsuits from women claiming that they were not adequately warned of the numerous complications that could arise from use of the medication. In October of last year, lawsuits that were still pending were consolidated into a larger class action suit.

Officials from Bayer insist that Yasmin is still a safe product despite allegations to the contrary, and the Pharmaceutical Business Review predicts that the updated warnings are not likely to adversely affect sales.