Judge David Herndon, who will be present for all of the Yasmin/Yaz trials filed against Bayer, ordered the company to pay for its German executives to travel to America and to provide depositions for the trial. Bayer has already taken the measure to reduce the amount of documents produced in discovery claiming that the paper weighs up to 200 tones. The company has tried this tactic before on the phone during the meeting in November 2010. But the representatives Joachim Marr, Hartmut Blod, and Ilka Schellschmidt were ordered by Herndon to the United States because Herndon believes, "equities favor the depositions being held in the U.S."

 

Bayer had already said that Blode and Schellschmidt could be used as representatives to discuss pre-clinical development and clinical issues discussed in the trial. However, German law prevents American-style depositions to be held in Germany. Bayer has offered three representatives to be flown to Belgium. The idea was flatly rejected by attorneys for the Plaintiffs with the argument that the cost of flying to all attorneys into Belgium would be prohibitive.

 

Bayer said that both the jet lag and time it takes to travel to the U.S. from this distance would prevent the officers from doing their job. Bayer was forced to make a new order of protection. At the time of the conference, Herndon denied protection to Bayer and the company required the company representatives to fly to the U.S. for the depositions. Herndon claimed his jurisdiction to the dismay of Bayer and its attorneys. Although Yaz/Yasmin prosecutions have yet gone to trial, there are many activities going on pre-trial and Bayer seems to purposefully drag its feet in the process. So far, Herndon does not let their excuses go very far.

 

While the future of the Yasmin/Yaz lawsuits can not be determined before they are settled or go to court, one thing remains certain: the residing judge is not letting Bayer get away with stonewalling the attorneys or the court. As a product liability attorney in the Midwest, I am pleased that the courts are taking the steps necessary to protect the public and send a message to other foreign manufacturers of medication. If you or someone in your family was injured by a prescription drug with defects or labeling error, call 888.945.2487 for a free consultation with an experienced product liability attorney.

 

Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his personal injury law firm routinely handles product liability cases that result in personal injury or death throughout the United States. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a drug company, please contact a product liability attorney to learn your rights. It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney's fees until we recover on your behalf.

-->The German company Bayer, which manufactures Yasmin and Yaz, tried to blame their recent stock market loss on the expiration of their patent. However analysts believe that the decrease in shares was not caused by the revocation of the patent. According to Bayer, the European Patent Office revoked the company's patent after the generic drug Novartis filed an appeal against the decision to uphold the patent in 2006. The revoke brought shares for Bayer down to 1.6% lower.

 

The patent protects the procedure to lower the amount of particles in the pills active ingredient and was supposed to last until 2020. However with the recent revoke the patent might give generic versions a chance to release this year. A JP Morgan analyst expects to see Hexal, a generic version of the drug, release sometime this year. The patent for Yasmin products from the Glaxo manufacturer was revoked in America because of a number of pending lawsuits for its harmful side effects. After the patent was revoked in America, the sales for both Yaz and Yasmin declined 13% from the previous year. Analysts believe that the European revoke will have a similar effect.

 

A brokerage firm stated, "In Germany the pricing is dramatically lower than in the U.S. at 7.5 euros per month compared to the U.S. at 54 euros per month, which could lead to more brand loyalty allowing Bayer to retain more share." Insurance companies in Europe would like to prevent patients from choosing to buy the generic versions of Yasmin or Yaz. The main reason is that most women pay out of pocket for the contraceptives. Even though the revocation of the European patent was not good for Bayer and others, it was inevitable following the American revocation. Unfortunately many women have suffered from the drug's side effects, which leave many wondering why the drug has not been pulled from the market.

 

In product liability cases, experienced Missouri attorneys work tirelessly to make sure that their clients receive compensation for their injuries. Injuries from a prescription medication can be devastating to any family, which is why product liability victims should seek the guidance of an experienced Missouri product liability attorney. To speak to an attorney right away, call 888.956.2487 and let one of our experienced attorneys help fight for you.

Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his personal injury law firm routinely handles product liability cases that result in personal injury or death throughout the United States. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a drug company, please contact a product liability attorney to learn your rights. It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney's fees until we recover on your behalf.

 

Bayer, the makers of a controversial birth-control pill Yasmin and Yaz has funded a new study showing that even if Yaz is dangerous, the pills that contain drosperinone are better for protecting women from unwanted pregnancies. The study found that birth control pills that make use of a drug-free time for a shorter period (drosperinone stays longer in the blood), mix those pills containing drosperinone like Yaz, may also act as a diuretic because drosperinone is a long-term progestogen. Right now, Yaz, Yasmin and Beyaz are the only drugs on the market, which may contain drosperinone.

 

Basically, Bayer paid German researchers to study a database that had over 52,000 records of women who were taking Yaz. The study was conducted by comparing the failure rates or the number of unwanted pregnancies that occur in women taking different oral contraceptives. According to information from the study, women taking pills containing drosperinone had less failure than those with other progestins.

 

While such news should be worthy of being celebrated for Bayer, but it does not overlook the fact that the company has thousands of lawsuits that were filed against them by women who have suffered adverse side effects of Yaz or Yasmin . Some of these side effects include heart problems, gallbladder problems, stroke and blood clots. Although there are many studies showing the dangers of drugs such as Yaz, which contains drosperinone, Bayer does not care. In an earlier statement made to address the risks of Yaz, Bayer's then counsel, David Stewart, said: "The reality is that Yaz and Yasmin are much more aggressive form of birth control drugs than previous generations"

 

Bayer executives remain fully convinced that all birth control pills contain the potential to cause serious health risks. Indeed, Bayer is so firm in that conviction that they have launched more drugs that use Safyral, droperinone, and Beyaz. One thing is certain: while Bayer is ready and willing to defend their oral drugs against all claims and complaints against them, the new study does nothing to help the company see the error of their ways. In any case, this new study Bayer simply encouraged to think that has done nothing wrong. For Bayer, at least, the risks are worth it.

 

In product liability cases, experienced Missouri attorneys work tirelessly to make sure that their clients receive compensation for their injuries. Injuries from a prescription medication can be devastating to any family, which is why product liability victims should seek the guidance of an experienced Missouri product liability attorney. To speak to an attorney right away, call 888.956.2487 and let one of our experienced attorneys help fight for you.


Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his personal injury law firm routinely handles product liability cases that result in personal injury or death throughout the United States. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a drug company, please contact a product liability attorney to learn your rights. It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney's fees until we recover on your behalf.

Although widely used brands of birth control medications that contain drospirenone, such as Yasmin and Yaz, have yet to be recalled by the Food and Drug Administration, the evidence of the risks associated with the medication are being evaluated. Studies published in the British Journal of Medicine earlier this year reported that taking birth control medicine with drospirenone have two to three times more risks associated than for levonorgestrel-based birth control medications.

Two new studies published by the British Journal of Medicine examine the risk for blood clots or venous thromboembolism (VTE) in women between the ages of 15 to 44 who use birth control medication that contains drospirenone versus women who took birth control using another form of progestin. Progestin, a synthetic female sex hormone, is used in many oral contraceptives. In Europe, regulators are revising the prescription information to reflect these recent findings. The European Medicines Agency stated the risk of taking oral contraceptives containing drospirenone held a greater risk of developing blood clots than medication containing levonorgestrel. Although there is less risk in taking oral contraceptives with levonorgestrel contained a smaller risk of blood clots, the risk is there.

The Food and Drug Administration released an alert that stated that it is "currently evaluating the conflicting results from these studies and will look at all currently available information to fully assess the risks and benefits of dropspirenone-containing birth control pills." The agency is not suggesting that women stop using the birth control with consulting their doctor first, but does advise that women watch for symptoms of blood clots. Symptoms include severe chest pain, persistent leg pain, or sudden shortness of breath. The Food and Drug Administration plans to release a study this summer exploring the link between blood clots and hormonal contraceptives.



Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his personal injury law firm routinely handles product liability cases that result in personal injury or death throughout the United States. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a drug company, please contact a product liability attorney to learn your rights. It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney's fees until we recover on your behalf.

For several months, the civil lawsuit saga with Yasmin has captured the attention of consumers and experienced product liability attorneys around the country. Recently, a U.S. district judge ruled that 23 lawsuits against Bayer lacked enough real evidence to continue and dismissed the 23 claims. The lawsuit, which took place in St. Louis, Illinois, was against the makers of Yasmin, a popular birth control pill.

The attorneys for many of the 23 product liability lawsuits blamed the company for the side effects of taking Yasmin. The side effects to the birth control included gallbladder problems, which led to surgery for some. Other side effects were vein disorders and strokes. There were many lawsuits that were filed in different states including Arizona, Mississippi, and Missouri. One of the attorneys on the case wrote, "each plaintiff needed to serve a fact sheet that included a signed declaration and an authorization to release records." The judge ruled a lack of evidence because many of the plaintiffs did not complete the fact sheet.

The same attorney continued to say, that "important information was left off all of the fact sheets. In addition, in most cases, plaintiffs did not sign the plaintiff fact sheet declaration or provide responsive and substantially complete answers to plaintiff fact sheet questions regarding personal and family medical history." Without the cooperation of the plaintiffs with the fact sheets, the judge could not find real evidence that the popular birth control pill was the cause of any injuries to the 23 plaintiffs.

The Yasmin dismissal comes after several other product liability dismissals. While the judges that have ruled in favor of a dismissal that does not mean they actually believe the lawsuit to be bogus, but that the plaintiff needs to acquire more evidence before proceeding with the lawsuit. The dismissal of many drug-related lawsuits should not deter Yasmin victims from trying to receive compensation for the mistakes that Bayer made. The dismissal of the lawsuit will push product liability attorneys a little harder to prove their case.

In product liability cases, the experienced attorneys have to do what they can to make sure that their clients produce the correct paperwork and that unrelated evidence stay out of the trial. Injuries from a prescription drug can be complicated, which is why victims should work an experienced Missouri product liability attorney. To speak to an attorney right away, call 888.956.2487 and let us help you fight.

Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his Missouri personal injury law firm routinely handles product liability cases that result in personal injury or death throughout the United States. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a drug company, please contact a product liability attorney to learn your rights. It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney's fees until we recover on your behalf.