The FDA’s safety alert, posted online on May 31, said the agency is “currently evaluating the conflicting results from these studies and will look at all currently available information to fully assess the risks and benefits of drospirenone-containing birth control pills.” FDA has still not recalled the drugs, and does not suggest that women stop taking Yasmin or Yaz without first consulting their physician. But the announcement comes a reminder that if you are one of the thousands of women across the country taking Yasmin or Yaz, it could be helpful to talk to your doctor about the potential dangers. Take special precaution and consider consulting a Yaz lawyer if you notice any symptoms that could lead to blood clots and some of the other Yaz and Yasmin symptoms.

“The evidence has mounted around the globe that Yaz is an unsafe option,” wrote Jessica Corsi in the human rights section of Foreign Policy Blogs earlier this year. “The advertisements used by Bayer to promote Yaz obscured the health risks, and even that the manufacturing plants producing Yaz are not properly producing the drug.” More recently, Bayer has been criticized as concealing important health information in order to maximize profits as lawsuits against the drug maker progress. Cathy Thrasher, a pharmacist at the Watkins Memorial Health Center charged with filling birth control prescriptions for college students, said that the ever increasing price of Yaz indicates that Bayer is more interested in advertising and profits than offering a quality, affordable product.

We will keep you posted on updates on the California Yaz lawsuits as they continue in the coming months.

More specifically, the plaintiffs accuse Bayer of advertising Yaz as adequate treatment for non-essential problems like acne and pre-menstrual syndrome without appropriately warning of the increased risks of heart and gallbladder problems associated with the drug. But the court concluded that the reasoning presented was too broad since “multiple steps separate the alleged wrongful conduct…and the alleged injuries…including patient preference, the independent judgment of the prescribing physician, and the reimbursement decision rendered by the third party payer and its benefits manager.”

Meanwhile, the dangerous side effects of Yaz and Yasmin made headlines recently when stage actress Brenda Hamilton, an understudy in the popular musical Wicked, claimed that the birth control pills caused her to have a stroke at the young age of 27, and sued the manufacturer Bayer. “I don’t think this should be happening to young women,” she said. “It shouldn’t happen to any woman just because they take birth-control pills.”

What does this mean for plaintiffs? It means that all cases filed or that will be filed in this matter will be transferred to one court–in this case the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois for pre-trial proceedings. This will enable plaintiffs attorneys to spend more time working with clients and doing discovery (the process by which they find out more information from Bayer), rather than working on case management.

An MDL is not a class action lawsuit. After pre-trial proceedings (such as hearings and motions) are completed, the cases will all be remanded back to their original courts for trial.

These letters served the same purpose as the letters sent to Bayer warning them that their television ads for Yaz were misleading and failed to adequately disclose the risks of the medication. The article explains that it is difficult for these companies to include all of this information, as well as the benefits of their drugs in a small internet ad space. However, it is extremeley important for consumers to be aware of the risks that these drugs carry. Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella provide a clear example of just how dangerous the side effects of drugs can be.

Many pharmaceutical companies are now struggling to figure out how they can comply with the requirements of the FDA while still advertising on the internet. It is unclear if pharmaceutical internet advertising is something that will disappear, or if companies will start targeting the conditions these drugs are meant to treat rather than even mentioning the name of a specific drug in an ad. Whatever happens in the industry, the FDA should stay on top of the advertising done by these companies. The public needs to be aware of any potential side effects that these drugs can cause in order to make an informed decision about what drugs they choose to take.

The side effects are a result of the progestin used in the manufacture of Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella (generic Yasmin). The progestin has the potential to increase potassium levels to the point where they can cause heart arrhythmia and blood clots. These clots can take the form of a stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, or a heart attack. Some women have also had problems with their kidneys, gallbladders, or other organs as a result of the potassium increases.

These 500 women and their families are from all across California, and we are working with them to help them understand their legal options. If you or a loved one have suffered serious side effects from the use of these drugs, it is important for you to know you have legal options, too. Please know that you are not alone, and that we may be able to help you, too.

The notice above mentions over 50 federal pending lawsuits against Bayer for this product, mostly relating to blood clots causing heart attacks, strokes, and other serious health risks.  Gallbladder diseases are also a common symptom associated with these lawsuits.

Yaz and Yasmin lawyers are currently investigating cases among women across the country, including our own firm here in California.

A full recap of this hearing is available from Dallas / Ft. Worth Yaz lawyer Dr. Shezad Malik.

If you or a loved one has taken Yaz and experienced any health difficulties as a result, please contact our firm by email or at 1-800-840-2111.

Brown commented:

“Bayer’s deceptive ad campaign led young women to believe that its oral contraceptive would cure symptoms for which it was not approved for use. This judgment modification forces the company to stop making those claims and spend $20 million correcting misleading assertions about the product.”

Interestingly, Brown invoked a previous agreement with Bayer which the manufacturer had signed in 2007 after it failed to announce safety risks associated with its cholesterol-reduction drug Baycol adequately.

26 other states joined California’s motion. Bayer has agreed to stop airing the misleading ads and to also launch a $20 million advertising campaign that will correct the claims made in the misleading ads. A major criticism of the settlement is that $20 million is “chump change” for Bayer, and is negligible compared to the amount of money that Yaz and Yasmin bring into the company.

You can read more about the FDA warnings concerning Bayer’s advertising here, and more information about this specific filing is also available from SF Citizen.