Bayer Sued Over Yaz Death, Blood Clots

(MoneyWatch)  Attorneys in Ohio are gathering plaintiffs to sue Bayer over its Yaz birth control pill, claiming it causes potentially fatal blood clots. The suits come after Bayer reached an agreement with the FDA to run $20 million in corrective advertising after the company's TV spots misleadingly claimed the pill could cure acne and PMS.

Although such suits are predictable -- virtually all drugs attract suits from someone -- the claims in Ohio are interesting because they allege that Yaz is a new combination of contraceptive chemicals that make it more dangerous than other pills. While the lawyers have so far gathered only a handful of cases, one of them is a death. The suit (which you can download here) states:

The difference between YAZ/Yasmin and other birth control pills on the market is that drospirenone has never before been marketed in the United States and is unlike other progestins available in the United States.

The suit also plays on Bayer's history as a company that has repeatedly screwed up when it comes to marketing:

Defendants have been warned at least three times by the FDA; in 2003, 2008 and 2009, for misleading the public through the use of ads which overstate the efficacy of YAZ and/or its predecessor Yasmin, and minimize serious risks associated with the drug.

The claims are also reminiscent of those brought against Schering-Plough's Nuvaring and Johnson & Johnson's Orth Evra patch -- that high doses of estrogen cause blood clots that can kill or give patients strokes.

• Previous items on Bayer:
• Bayer Hires The Hills' Lo Bosworth to Tout Birth Control Pill Yaz
• Bayer Triggers Scare With White Powder Sent Through Mail
• Probe: Bayer Destroyed Evidence After Fatal Explosion; Tried to Dampen Media Coverage
• Bayer's Lawyers Nix Public Hearing on Explosion at WV Plant
• Why the Bayer-Yaz Settlement Will Not Change Drug Advertising Forever
• Bayer's Advertising for Contraceptive Yaz Was "Misleading"
• Bayer Funding of Beekeepers' Association Draws Controversy
• Bayer to Pay $796,500 in EPA Fines at Plant That Exploded
• FDA sends Bayer a warning letter for unsubstantiated claims over Drontal for dogs.
• Trasylol Deaths Trigger Lawsuits
• Ethics Problems Are Business as Usual at Bayer
• The FDA slams Bayer with two warning letters for allegedly selling unapproved aspirin products.
• FTC fines Bayer $3.2 million for falsely claiming vitamins cause weight loss and for violating prior order not to make false claims.
• Bayer forced to discontinue advertising for All-Day Energy multivitamin which doesn't last all day.
• Bayer cited by NAD for not telling the truth when it said Aleve was the No. 1 medicine among orthopedic surgeons
• Bayer makes unsubstantiated claims about rivals to its Ascencia diabetes blood glucose monitor