Yaz and Yasmin Litigants Offered Settlement Funding by RD Legal Funding

CRESSKILL, N.J., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Deadlines for lawsuits over side effects of the birth control drugs Yaz and Yasmin have been moved back another 90 days, the third time deadlines have been delayed this year. The extension by Chief Judge David R. Herndon, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, allows settlement negotiations to continue between Bayer and lawyers for the more than 11,500 lawsuits that have been lodged against the drugs' manufacturer, Bayer. The suits allege that Bayer failed to adequately warn about the drugs' potentially fatal side effects including the risk of blood clots, pulmonary embolism, and gallbladder disease. Once settlement amounts have been determined, RD Legal Funding, LLC ("RD Legal"), a leading provider of litigation funding solutions, will provide legal settlement funding to both plaintiffs and their attorneys.

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Birth control pills work by combining estrogen and progestin to alter women's hormone levels. However, birth control pills made in the 1960s using high levels of estrogen had been proven to cause elevated risks of stroke. Yasmin, approved by the F.D.A. in 2001, and Yaz, approved in 2006, combined drospirenone, a new synthetic form of progestin, with smaller amounts of estrogen than competitors' products. Yaz became the U.S.'s top-selling birth control pill thanks in part to multi-million dollar ad campaigns promoting the drug to women under 35 as the birth control pill that also combatted premenstrual depression and acne. Bayer's contraceptives generated $1.58 billion in sales in 2010.

However, a study of 1.3 million Danish women published in October 2011 in the British Medical Journal reported that women taking Yaz or Yasmin had double the risk of blood clots, compared with women taking the older contraceptives.

Bayer responded that the study and others showing elevated risks of stroke with blood clots in the legs and lungs had methodological problems. A Bayer-funded study concluded that cardiovascular risks in women taking Bayer products were acceptable and comparable to other birth control pills. But Bayer's annual report, released in February 2012, implied that the company had settled at least 70 Yaz and Yasmin related cases.

On April 10th, 2012, the FDA ordered Bayer and other contraceptive manufacturers to amend the blood-clot warnings on their labels. For pills such as Yaz and Yasmin that contain drospirenone, warning labels must state that researchers have found they may triple the risk for blood clots. The most recent news indicates that Bayer has agreed to pay $142 million to settle 651 Yaz and Yasmin related lawsuits.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits, as well as plaintiffs themselves, should contact RD Legal at 1-800-565-5177 or visit http://www.legalfunding.com for more information about settlement financing.

Founded in 1997, RD Legal has established itself as one of the nation's leading providers of lawsuit settlement funding to attorneys and plaintiffs. Interim settlement financing does not require any kind of payments until the settlement is paid; there are no monthly interest or principal payments, no upfront points or fees. Once the necessary documentation is received, RD Legal can wire funds within days. RD Legal provides personalized service and quick turnaround.

SOURCES:

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm274292.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/health/26contracept.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-13/bayer-said-to-pay-110-million-in-yaz-birth-control-cases.html
http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/yaz-settlements-reached-in-lawsuits-25942

SOURCE RD Legal Funding, LLC