In a lawsuit, the discovery process is the most important way to uncover documents that make your case. In this case, women who are suing Bayer AG, a large drugmaker from Germany, have uncovered documents that show the company tried to sell birth control pills in the Yasmin family for unapproved uses and downplayed the risks.
According to documents obtained by the plaintiffs, Bayer officials wanted to promote Yaz, a spinoff of Yasmin, for all types of premenstrual problems, even though it was only approved for severe premenstrual symptoms.
An article in Bloomberg reports a salesman cited an article in Woman’s Day magazine that the sales force could be used to broaden the symptoms Yaz could be prescribed for. At the same time, internal company documents show discussions about the link of the drug to heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots.
Dangers of Yasmin/Yaz
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there have been at least 50 deaths tied to the Yasmin/Yaz birth control pill from 2004 to 2008, with many occurring among young women. The FDA has said women taking pills from the Yasmin family have a 74 percent higher risk of suffering a blood clot than a woman taking a lower estrogen birth control pill.
The FDA is scheduled for December 8 to look at the data from 835,826 women taking Yasmin/Yaz. The drug is a blockbuster seller for Bayer and generated $1.58 billion in profit last year, according to Bloomberg.
Product Liability
Among the allegations against Bayer are that the company withheld important information on the dangers of taking the birth control pills and instead called it just as safe as older, more established birth control drugs. A product liability lawsuit can allege that the company knew or should have known about the dangers but failed to warn the public about a product that was defective in its manufacture or design.
Expect trials over whether Yasmin/Yaz caused blood-clots to begin in January in Illinois and Pennsylvania. Contact the Florida Yaz/Yasmin side effect attorneys at Farah & Farah today at (800) 533-3555 for a consultation on your case.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-21/bayer-may-have-touted-birth-control-pills-for-unapproved-use-e-mails-show.html#
