Bayer Goes to Court over Yaz

Newark, CABayer was defending itself in court this week over allegations that its popular oral contraceptive Yaz

was responsible for a California woman's stroke.

Susan Galinis, just 39 years old, suffered a debilitating stroke in June 2008, after she had been prescribed Yaz to control her menstrual cramps, an indication that Bayer promoted in its advertising campaigns.

The Galinis suit is one of more than a hundred similar cases pending in courts across the US: as of October 8, 2009 Bayer has been served with 129 lawsuits related to Yasmin and Yaz, the online journal Law.com reported this week.

More suits may be forthcoming following the publication of 2 recent studies published in the British Medical Journal, which show an association between the use of Yaz and an increased risk for venous thrombosis.

The key issue with Yaz, Yazmin and the generic version of the pill, Ocella, appears to be the compounds used, namely ethinyl estradiol and the new "fourth generation" progestin drospirenone (DRSP), which have been linked to deep vein thrombosis (DVT); Pulmonary embolism (PE); gallbladder complications and gallbladder disease; stroke; heart attack and death.

"There are no benefits to this drug, and there are greater risks," lawyer Michael Danko said in an interview with Law.com. "The reason they're using a synthetic hormone is because they can patent it."

The results of further studies are pending, and are expected to prompt even more lawsuits, against Bayer. "I feel we know what the studies are going to say," Danko said. "The studies that we have now are certainly sufficient to proceed with litigation."