Lawsuits and Problems from Yaz and Yasmin Pills Did Not Hurt Sales Last Year

By Austin Kirk
Posted March 29, 2010

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Despite concerns about the risk of health problems from Yaz and Yasmin, as well as mounting Yaz pill lawsuits and Yasmin pill lawsuits, Bayer has continued to reap the rewards of strong sales for their popular birth control pills last year. Unfortunately, the drug maker’s decision to place profits ahead of the safety of consumers, by continuing to sell the pills without adequate or accurate warnings about the risk of potentially life-threatening side effects, has paid off.

According to its 2009 annual report (PDF), Bayer reported that sales of Yaz, Yasmin and Yasminella (a lower dose version of Yasmin) saw a 4.6% increase over 2008 sales. The pills were the best selling pharmaceutical products for the global drug giant, generating nearly $1.3 billion euro (or more than $1.7 billion U.S. dollars).

Bayer attributed the continued success for the brands particularly to the growth of the Yaz pill in the United States and Europe, and indicated their intention to further expand the product line by seeking approval for Yasmin Plus and Yaz Plus, which would combine the birth control pills with folate in a single tablet.

Yaz and Yasmin contain a combination of ethinyl estradiol, which is used in many oral birth control pills, and drospirenone, which is considered a “fourth generation” progestin. Drospirenone is not currently used in any other types of oral contraceptives except the Ocella pill, which is generic Yasmin, and is suspected of causing the increased risk of blood clots and other serious injuries associated with the drugs when compared to older pills.

The continued strong sales are a bit surprising given the developments over the past year:

• At the start of 2009, the FDA determined that Bayer had been making unsubstantiated claims in its commercials about potential benefits of the Yaz pill, and attempted to drown out information about the health risks with loud music. In an unprecedented move, Bayer was forced to run a $20 million corrective advertising campaign, and must now have the FDA approve all future Yaz ads for the next five years.
• In August, a birth control study published in the British Medical Journal found that pills containing drosperinone increased a woman’s risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism when compared to some other types of pills. Women taking drospirenone, the progestin contained in Yaz and Yasmin, had a 6.3 times greater risk of blood clots than women taking no form of oral contraceptive.By comparison, women who took birth control pills with the older progestin, levonorgestrel, faced an increased risk of less than four times normal.
• In the second half of 2009, personal injury suits over Yaz and Yasmin began pouring in against Bayer, with many gaining media coverage that highlighted the injuries suffered by otherwise healthy women after taking the pills, such as heart attacks and strokes, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, gallbladder failure and sudden death on Yaz.

YASMIN AND YAZ PILL LAWSUITS

In the same annual report, Bayer disclosed that as of Febuary 15, 2010, the drug maker faced about 1,100 Yasmin or Yaz lawsuits in the United States for women who suffered a personal injury, some of which involved death. The complaints contain similar allegations that Bayer knew or should have known that the Yasmin and Yaz pill side effects increase the risk of serious injuries, yet they continued to market the drugs without disclosing them or adequately warning about the risks.

The Yasmin and Yaz pill lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. represent women throughout the United States who are pursuing a lawsuit against Bayer for problems with Yaz and Yasmin. To review a potential cases for yourself or a loved one and find out if compensation may be available for injuries caused by Bayer’s decision to place profits before the safety of consumers, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.