Many of the thousands of Yaz lawsuits that have been filed in state an federal courts are related to generic forms of the medication that are produced by drugmakers other than Yaz’s manufacturer Bayer Pharmaceuticals. The popular fourth-generation drospirenone birth control pill has been reproduced by many companies wanting to capitalize on the popularity and profitability of the oral contraceptive. Gianvi is a drug similar to Yaz that was introduced by Teva Pharmaceuticals in June of last year. Yasmin, Yaz’s “sister” drug that is also produced by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, has two generic forms – Ocella and Zarah, both involved in Yaz litigation.
Also linked to the cases are Safyral and Beyaz. These are similar to Yaz and Yazmin but include metafolin that can reduce the risk of birth defects in women who get pregnant shortly after discontinuing the birth control treatment.
Most recently, a new Yaz-like drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Sandoz has introduced a birth control called Loryna, which contains drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol, like Yaz. Because it is incredibly similar in composition to Yaz it is likely that patients of this new birth control will experience similar Yaz side effects, which include gallbladder disease, stroke, blood clots, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis.
A British study published in the British Medical Journal in April of this year showed that women taking birth control containing drospirenone – including Yaz and all of its generic forms – are more than twice as likely to develop Yaz blood clots than women who are taking other forms of birth control, although almost all oral contraceptives come with some risk of blood clotting.
Although Yaz and similar products are netting Bayer millions of dollars, ther is a significant drop in the profitability of the products, especially due to increased use of generic forms of the drug.
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