Generic Yaz Lawsuit

Generic Yaz birth control pills include Gianvi and Loryna. These medications all contain drospirenone, a new synthetic hormone that the FDA recently announced is linked to a higher risk of blood clots. Blood clots can cause a pulmonary embolism, heart attack, stroke, severe organ damage or organ failure, permanent disability, or death.

Generic Yaz

Yaz is the brand-name of a popular birth-control pill that was invented by the pharmaceutical company Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. It received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006, and since then, it has been used by millions of women to prevent unwanted pregnancy.

Generic Yaz include the following medications:

• Gianvi: Approved by the FDA in 2010, sold by generic drug companies Teva Pharmaceuticals and Barr Laboratories
• Loryna: Approved by the FDA in 2011, sold by the generic drug company Sandoz Pharmaceuticals

Generic Yaz Lawsuits

If you were injured by generic Yaz birth control pills, you may be seeking legal guidance regarding a future generic Yaz lawsuit. You may have heard about a recent Supreme Court decision, Pilva, Inc., et al v. Mensing. In this June 2011 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that generic drug companies could not be sued for failing to warn people about the risks of taking their drugs. The Supreme Court effectively decided to protect the interests of generic drug companies at the expense of people who have been injured by these medications.

Fortunately, if you used generic Yaz birth control pills, such as Gianvi or Loryna, you may still have a legal claim. Bayer, the pharmaceutical company that invented Yaz, manufactures and supplies ingredients that generic drug companies use. Bayer may still share legal liability for injuries caused by generic Yaz birth control pills. In fact, Bayer is already facing thousands of generic Yaz lawsuits.

What is the Problem with Generic Yaz?

The controversy surrounding generic Yaz birth control pills comes from one ingredient: drospirenone. Yaz, Gianvi, and Loryna all contain 3-mg of drospirenone, which is a new, synthetic form of the female reproductive hormone progestin. All birth control pills that contain progestin slightly rase a woman’s risk of developing blood clots. However, the FDA has recently announced that “The FDA has concluded that drospirenone-containing birth control pills may be associated with a higher risk for blood clots than other progestin-containing pills.” Drospirenone is no more effective at preventing pregnancy compared to other birth control pills.

What is the risk? One study found that women taking drospirenone were 75% more likely to develop a blood clot and twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke, even just three months after starting the birth control pill. In real numbers, approximately 10 women for every 10,000 taking a drospirenone-containing birth control pill are expected to have a blood clot.

Generic Yaz Blood Clots

The blood clots associated with generic Yaz form deep inside the body, and they are far more dangerous than blood clots that form on the surface of your skin (such as bruises or varicose veins). Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), a side effect of generic Yaz, occurs when blood clots form in veins deep within the legs, pelvis, arms, or body. If these blood clots break loose, they become embolisms, and float through the bloodstream until they become trapped within a major internal organ. Once a blood clot is stuck in a smaller blood vessel, it stops the flow of blood, which can cause severe tissue damage.

What are Generic Medicines?

When a pharmaceutical company invents a medicine, they patent this drug so that other companies cannot copy their invention. While a patent is active, a drug company has exclusive rights to produce, market, and sell their invention. Once this patent expires (usually after around 10 years on the market, sometimes more or less), other companies are allowed to sell identical versions of their brand-name equivalent. This market competition drives prices lower, and so generic drugs are usually much cheaper than the brand-name drug.

By law, a generic drug must be identical or biologically equivalent to the brand-name drug it is replacing. Generic drugs must contain the same amount of active ingredients, dose, strength, route of administration, safety, effectiveness, and intended use. The generic medications also have the same side effects as the original drug. Yaz and generic Yaz have the same side effects.