Yaz Blood Clot Risk Heightens

According to two new studies recently published in the online edition of the British Medical Journal, Yaz contains a new progestin drospirenone (DSRP) and carries up to triple the risk of blood clots (known as venous thromboembolism) over traditional pills containing the progestin levonorgestrel (LNG). Bayer was warned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in the fall of 2008, that Bayer’s television advertisements were misleading and did not disclose the additional side effects of Yaz.



Bayer, the pharmaceuticals manufacturer of the oral contraceptive Yaz, has recently refuted the findings that the drug carries a higher risk of forming blood clots than other birth controls. The company instead referred to several previous studies, all of which were funded by Bayer, which showed that the birth control pills had comparable blood clot risk to other birth control pills. In
April 2010, the company was forced to include information on its labels from a Dutch study that suggested that the risk of Yaz blood clots was higher than other birth control pills. The update also included data from two Bayer-sponsored studies which found no problems with the pills.

Bayer faces about 7,000 Yaz lawsuits filed on behalf of women who allege that the drug maker failed to adequately warn about the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening injuries from the birth control bills, such as a stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or gallbladder disease. The federal Yaz litigation has been consolidated as part of a multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. There are also hundreds of cases filed at the state level in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.