Women Voice Concern Over Yaz Side Effects
Bayer held its annual shareholder meeting on April 29 in Cologne, Germany. About 4,000 shareholders participated in the meeting and voted on the future of the company. According to the group Coalition against Bayer Dangers (CBG), based in Germany, several women spoke out at the meeting about the dangers posed by health problems from Yaz and Yasmin, which included countermotions by CBG to rein in what it considers to be irresponsible corporate activity by Bayer. CBG claims that the FDA has logged at least 190 reports of Yaz and Yasmin deaths in the United States that were reportedly linked to the use of the two popular birth control pills. However, that number is likely only a fraction of the actual number of deaths from Yasmin and Yaz, as it is widely acknowledged that only about 1% to 10% of all adverse events associated with the use of medications are ever reported. More and more women are speaking out against the adverse Yaz side effects that are changing their lives.
Allegations in these cases have been that drospirenone, a diuretic, causes an increase in potassium to unsafe levels, which can disrupt heart rhythms and slow the flow of blood, leading to clotting. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals is the maker of Yaz/Yasmin. Last spring, the FDA required Bayer to update its ads and promotional materials after the company changed its warning label to include new information about the risk of thromboembolism compared to other contraceptives. Despite serious allegations and detrimental side effects, Yaz recall has not been administered.
Studies, published in the British Medical Journal, found that drospirenone, the new progestin component in the contraceptives, carries a two to three times greater risk of blood clots than previous types of birth control pills containing an older progestin ingredient called levonorgestrel. There are hundreds of Yaz lawsuits pending across the country that allege that contraceptives that include: Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, cause blood clots, as well as heart attacks, strokes and gallbladder failure. These findings have stand as a direct contradiction to Bayer’s claims that drospirenone poses no greater risk than other drugs used in contraceptives.
Generic Yaz: Still Dangerous
Although many people are familiar at this point with Yaz side effects associated with Yaz birth control due to the intense media coverage surrounding risks associated with the popular birth control, not everyone knows the full story. Blood clots and other side effects associated with Yaz usage can be seen in other forms of the drug, such as generics. A new form of generic Yaz has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for release into the United States pharmaceuticals market, called Loryna. It is manufactured by Sandoz.
This is the second form of generic Yaz available in the United States – the first was called Gianvi, introduced to the market in June 2010. Although there are still hundreds of Yaz lawsuits in state and federal courts across the country, this new product might increase the number of side effects being experienced by patients. Yaz and similar products remain popular forms of birth control for women, despite the risks that have been outlined in the media.
Drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol are the active ingredients in both Yaz and the newer Loryna, meaning that the side effects of these products will likely mimic one another. Young women who have taken this birth control have experienced Yaz gallbladder disease, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis. Many Yaz side effects are related to blood clotting.
Many of the nearly 8,000 Yaz lawsuits have to do with generic forms of the product, which carry the same complications as the original product. Safyral and Beyaz are also similar products that are involved in some of the Yaz litigation, but also include metafolin, which helps reduce birth defects in women who get pregnant shortly after ceasing their birth control treatment.
It is still to be seen what kind of side effects will manifest with Loryna, but they are likely to be almost identical to complications related to Yaz.
Yaz Blood Clots Lead to Lawsuits
Despite the recent controversy surrounding Yaz, Yasmin, and other birth control pills containing the synthetic hormone drospirenone, they continue to be among the most popular forms of oral contraceptives on the market in the United States, especially among young women 13-18.
Lawsuits representing over 7,000 plaintiffs have been filed in state and federal courts and consolidated in multidistrict litigation that will deal with cases associated with Yaz side effects such as gallbladder problems, heart attacks, stroke, pulmonary embolism, blood clots, and deep vein thrombosis. Most cases assert that Bayer did not warn consumers adequately of the potential for side effects.
Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz, Safyral, Ocella, Gianvi, and Zarah are all so-called fourth-generation birth control pills which contain both estrogen and the synthetic hormone drospirenone. While there is risk of blood clotting with any oral contraceptive containing estrogen, the addition of drospirenone seems to increase this risk as much as six times over.
Drospirenone has been connected to hyperkalemia, which is the presence of levels of potassium in the bloodstream that are greater than what would be normal. This can cause blood to pool in veins and therefore create clots, which can contribute to conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.
Deep vein thrombosis begins when a blood clot clogs a major artery, usually in the leg but occasionally in the arm or pelvis. This is a painful condition that may need medical treatment to resolve, although in some cases the blood clot might dissolve on its own.
If left untreated, a Yaz deep vein thrombosis blood clot could travel to a major artery in the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism, another side effects Yaz users are at risk of. Pulmonary embolism can be fatal and, in fact, kills around 60,000 Americans each year, though it is unclear how many of these people were taking Yaz or similar birth control at the time of their death.
Yaz Lawsuits Number Over 7,000
More than seven thousand plaintiffs across the country have filed lawsuits against Bayer Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturers of the popular birth control pill Yaz. Yaz is a fourth generation drospirenone-based oral contraceptive, which was introduced on the market in 2006 and since then has remained one of the most popular forms of birth control in the country, especially amongst teenaged girls. However, it comes with complications.
Yaz patients have experienced side effects that range from serious to potentially fatal – gallbladder disease, stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, and problems with blood clots are all among the laundry list of side effects that Yaz has afflicted countless patients with. It is no surprise, then, that many of them are filing suit against the company responsible for the production and distribution of such a product – women are demanding compensation for past and future medical bills related to their side effects, and bereaved families are filing wrongful death lawsuits.
Yaz litigation has been combined into a multidistrict case, which would normally speed up the legal process by combining pretrial processes of similar cases in order to speed up litigation. However, conflicts have prevented Yaz multidistrict litigation from being as efficient as possible – connections between state and federal courts have dissolved, and lawyers from both sides of the case were involved in a debate as to whether or not foreign documents could be used as evidence.
The presiding judge, the Honorable David Herndon, has appointed a special master to help mediate these issues in order to speed up the litigation process. No Yaz trials in the multidistrict litigation case have yet gone to trial, but preliminary bellwether trials could take place as early as the beginning of next year. These trials will set the tone for the remainder of Yaz litigation and will give plaintiffs a good idea of how much compensation they can expect from the German-based pharmaceuticals giant.
Yaz Lawyers Expect More Cases
The growing number of Yaz cases in the federal multidistrict litigation is not surprising, considering the former – and ongoing – popularity of the fourth generation oral contraceptive. However, legal experts do not yet have an estimate as to how many of the millions of women who have been prescribed Yaz have experienced side effects serious enough to file suit against drugmaker Bayer – or how many of these women will decide to take their cases through the legal system at all.
Yaz, the most popular birth control pill on the market in the United States, netted Bayer Pharmaceuticals almost 800 million dollars in its first year on shelves. However, due to the sheer number of cases, Bayer is likely to have to answer for a lot more than that – the costs they will incur related to legal fees, lawsuit settlements, and jury verdicts looks like it could be significant. There are 6,151 individual lawsuits consolidated in multidistrict litigation, with a total of 7,488 plaintiffs who are seeking compensation for their Yaz side effects.
Yaz was introduced in 2006 as a birth control deemed to be safe and effective. Its advertisements on television even outlined to viewers added benefits – such as a reduction in PMS symptoms and treatment for moderate acne – of the pill, which were not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. In 2006 Bayer was sent a letter by the FDA warning them that their advertisements were dishonest and misleading – they touted benefits that had not been evaluated, and they glossed over or neglected to mention many of the severe side effects of the pill.
Yaz is still a popular form of birth control, especially for women between the ages of 13 and 18. Even young teenagers are at serious risk of Yaz side effects. It is not clear how many women will be included in the final multidistrict litigation case, but the number of women filing suit with a Yaz lawyer does not seem to show any signs of stopping its steady increase.
Yaz Side Effects Could Affect Teenage Girls
Teenage girls and young adults are taking the controversial Yaz birth control more than ever before, studies are showing – and this is of concern to doctors and the public alike due to the severe and potentially deadly Yaz side effects. Yaz is a drospirenone-based fourth generation birth control pill that was originally marketed not only as safe and effective birth control but also as a means of controlling acne and mild PMS. Neither of these claims were evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and as a result, Bayer, the manufacturer of the pills, was given a citation by the FDA regarding their misleading and irresponsible advertising.

