Yasmin/YAZ Claims Against Bayer Mount Up

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CN) - The latest liability lawsuit involving Bayer's Yasmin birth-control pill claims the drug contains a dangerous diuretic "that has never been marketed in the U.S." Bayer faces more than 125 lawsuits for Yasmin, which received FDA approval in 2001, and the newer YAZ, which was introduced in 2006.

Claims against Bayer for Yasmin/YAZ are mounting daily. At least six new claims were reported on Wednesday, from around the country.

In her complaint in Westchester County Court, Alishia Dianne Seagraves claims that after taking a combination of Yasmin and YAZ for two months in 2007, she is at greater risk of serious side effects, including heart arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, stroke, blood clots, embolisms, and kidney or gall bladder disease.

Yasmin and Yaz create "unique and dangerous risks" for women because they contain a diuretic that has never been marketed in the U.S. and is unlike other progestins, according to the complaint. Drospirenone blocks the hormone aldosterone, and can cause dehydration from increased potassium secretion and increased absorption sodium and water.

Studies have reported that the resulting electrolyte imbalance can lead to potentially fatal hyperkalemia arrhythmia and deep-vein thrombosis, Seagraves says.

Bayer claims that Yasmin/YAZ is tested and safe, but it never studied the drugs' effects in clinical trials, according to the complaint.

Seagraves claims Bayer used safety information from other oral contraceptives; she says the FDA warned Bayer three times about misleading the public through TV ads that overstate the drug's efficiency and minimize its risks.

Seagraves seeks damages for negligence, product liability, breach of warranty and fraud. She also sued Bayer affiliate Berlex Laboratories of Germany. She is represented by Melanie Muhlstock with Parker Waichman Alonso of Great Neck, N.Y.

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