A half dozen more Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits have been filed by young women and their families who claim the popular birth control pills caused them to suffer blood clots and other serious health problems.
Yaz and Yasmin are both made with a type of progestin called drospirenone, making them different from many other oral contraceptives. Drospirenone can elevate the body’s potassium levels, which can lead to a condition called hyperkalemia in certain patients. Hyperkalemia may result in potentially serious heart and health problems. Adverse Events reported to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) involving Yaz and Yasmin include heart arrhythmias, electrolyte imbalance, hyponatremis, hyperkalemia, hyperkalemic arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, bradycardia, myocardial infarction, stroke, transient ischemic attack, blood clots, embolisms, and sudden death.
Yaz is the top-selling oral contraceptive in the U.S. Last year, Yaz and Yasmin generated about $1.8 billion for Bayer. Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits allege that these sales were achieved through a marketing campaign that presented the medications as more than mere birth control pills, and touted them as treatments for premenstrual dysphoric disorder, premenstrual syndrome and moderate acne. Bayer and the other defendants named in the complaints have been warned at least three times by the FDA over misleading television advertisements which overstate the efficiency of Yaz or Yasmin and minimize serious risks associated with the drugs.
The latest Pennsylvania Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits allege fraud, civil conspiracy and commercial bribery. According to the Tribune Review, the complaints say Bayer made “false representations” that the contraceptives were “tested and found to be safe.” Each of the six complaints seek a total of $150,000 in punitive and compensatory damages.
On October 1, 2009, all Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits pending in federal court were consolidated for centralized and coordinated pre-trial proceedings in the Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois before Judge Herndon (MDL No. 2100).
