In the wake of several lawsuits being filed against Bayer regarding Yasmin/Yaz side effects, three main firms responsible for managing the majority of these lawsuits (23 of the 32 filed cases around the country) have filed a joint motion asking that the Yasmin and Yaz product liability litigation be consolidated. This motion would condense the suits and transfer them to Chief Judge James G. Carr of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

This motion follows recent reports indicating possible problems with Yasmin and Yaz side effects, lawsuits were filed in several states against Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation and other Bayer related companies. These suits allege that Bayer did not provide adequate warnings advising that Yaz and Yasmin side effects may increase the risk of serious health complications, including heart attacks, strokes, gallbladder disease, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism.

After a series of reports linking Yasmin/Yaz side effects to several deaths nationwide, several lawsuits were filed against Bayer Pharmaceutical Company. Some of these cases were fatal; complications included such serious effects as stroke and heart attacks. Though there were several influencing factors, one of the most striking interactions between the medicine and the bodies of the women was the high potassium levels. These raised levels are potentially dangerous for women with prexisting conditions such as diabetes, obesity, chronic high blood pressure, renal (kidney) conditions, history of stoke, or deep vein thrombosis. Often times, women were not warned of the possibility of these very serious side effects.

In fact, Bayer has been in trouble in the past for misleading advertisements. In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to Berlex Laboratories, an integrated part of the Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation, advising them to cease the use of an advertisement for Yasmin. The FDA claimed that the advertisement was misleading, making Yasmin seem as if the side effects were significantly reduced and minimized the warnings of serious health complications due to side effects, especially when the FDA had empirical evidence indicating that drospirenone (one of the chemicals in Yasmin/Yaz) presented added clinical risks. Additionally, the FDA advised Berlex that the advertisement made Yasmin seem superior to other contraceptives currently available.

Despite the removal of the ad and an expensive campaign to correct their mistake, Yasmin is still the top selling oral contraceptive in the nation; in 2008, Yaz accounted for 17.7% of the birth control market with sales of $616 million and Yasmin had an additional 11% of the market with $382 million in sales. Both of these drugs now carry the FDA’s strongest warning label, though both of them still present a serious risk.