A federal judge recently ordered Merck to disclose all studies relating to the company’s popular contraceptive ring, NuvaRing. These studies will help make a case for the hundreds of woman filing NuvaRing lawsuits claiming that the popular vaginal ring caused them serious injuries.
During May 2012, The British Medical Journal published a Danish study that suggested woman who use NuvaRing, as opposed to older hormonal birth control pills, are at a higher risk of suffering from serious side effects.
Side effects of NuvaRing include blood clots, strokes, pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). While these side effects are listed on the warning label of all forms of hormonal birth control, the study showed a significant link between NuvaRing and blood clots. Women who were using NuvaRing were 90% more likely to develop blood clots than women who were taking oral contraceptives.
NuvaRing hormones are slightly different from the hormones used in first and second generation birth control pills. Drosperinone, the added hormone in the popular pills, Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella, has been proven to increase the risks of blood clots, stroke, PE and DVT.
The information contained in Merck’s study will likely enforce the plaintiff’s claims that Merck was negligent in properly warning the public of NuvaRing risks. NuvaRing lawsuits are set to go to trial in May 2013.
The Legal Examiner and our Affiliate Network strive to be the place you look to for news, context, and more, wherever your life intersects with the law.
Comments for this article are closed.