Elon Freshman Dies After Taking YAZ
Michelle Pfleger, an 18-year-old college student – full of hope and promise – collapsed and later died of a blood clot in September, 2010 after taking YAZ, also known as Yasmin or Ocella, a contraceptive often used to treat acne. The drug is made by the German company, Bayer.
Her mother has filed a lawsuit against the Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and hopes by publicizing what happened to her freshman daughter will keep another family from having to go through the same tragedy.
The lawsuit claims YAZ is a dangerous prescription drug sold without proper warnings of the risks of serious and fatal injuries. It claims YAZ poses a greater risk of serious side effects than previous generations of oral contraceptives because it contains the hormone drospirenone. Last month the British Medical Journal published two studies which found drugs containing drospirenone increased the risk of serious blood clots 2-3 times that of earlier-generation oral contraceptives.
Although Bayer contends these side effects are rare, the official website for YAZ does warn of “increased risks of several serious side effects, including blood clots, stroke, and heart attack.”
Labels: Bayer, BMJ, Dangerous Drugs, Yaz
Posted by 12:55 pm