St. Louis Pharmaceutical Blog

Birth control pills subject of nearly 10,000 lawsuits
On behalf of Greg Roberts of The Roberts Law Firm, P.C. posted in Defective Drugs on Tuesday, September 10, 2013.
Oral contraceptives are extremely commonly prescribed and typically considered to be safe for use. For decades, women in St. Louis and around the country have counted on these medications for birth control as well as hormonal balancing. Despite the list of precautions and potential side effects listed, much of the time, birth control pills are able to be taken and used without problem.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Bayer Pharmaceuticals, the maker of two brands of oral contraceptives that are currently the subject of multiple lawsuits, faces a continued string of such suits. Statistics estimate that there are roughly 10,000 cases nationwide claiming that Yaz and Yasmin are essentially defective drugs, causing a host of physical problems for the women who take them.

The regulation of medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, is led by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The goal of the FDA’s programs is to ensure public health and safety by preventing defective drugs from either reaching the marketplace or from being further utilized if already being sold and taken. St. Louis citizens trust the FDA every day to be their eyes and ears and prevent harmful drugs from being on the market.
A recently published article discusses the FDA’s process for monitoring drugs and alerting the public about a drug recall. It is rare that the FDA actually issues or requires a recall of any drug. Rather, the safety regulation of pharmaceuticals works by notification to the manufacturer of an identified problem. At that point, any recall issued is done so at the discretion of the pharmaceutical company and is voluntary.

The Food and Drug Administration closely monitors prescription drugs to help ensure consumer safety. However, it is not only prescription or over-the-counter pharmaceuticals which may have side effects leading to undesirable drug interactions or even a drug injury. Supplements labelled as “natural” can also be wrought with side effects and, may not necessarily be fully “natural.”
While the FDA has limited control over the supplement market, they can test products and provide consumer warnings. This can be helpful to the public to prevent problems related to defective drugs or defective medication masquerading as supplements. Recently, the FDA has heightened awareness about multiple brands of sexual enhancement supplements after test results showed that the products contained sildenafil, the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra.