California Attorney General Jerry Brown made public a settlement with Bayer last Friday in which the drug company agreed to pay $20 million to correct false advertising about Yaz.  Bayer had advertised Yaz as a remedy for mild acne, without receiving approval.

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.