Bayer Paid Millions To Doctors For Essure Recommendations

Bayer Paid Millions To Doctors For Essure Recommendations

Introduction

As concerns over Bayer's birth control implant Essure build up, a new investigative report by CNN reveals Bayer influenced doctors by paying about $2.5 million, to recommend the product to patients. The report indicates that the patients stated the doctors aggressively suggested the device for permanent birth control method. From August 2013 through December 2017, Bayer paid 11,850 doctors to mislead patients, at least three doctors were paid in excess of $100,000.

The revelation report surfaced a day after a documentary was aired on Netflix named "The Bleeding Edge", highlighting the potential risks of unsafe medical technology and how it has been recommended in the United States. The focus was on Essure in the documentary, which described the severe complications suffered by women who used the birth control device. Reacting strongly to the documentary release, Bayer issued an "Open Letter" to all patients and doctors, indicating they support the safety of Essure and claimed that the reported problems are misleading and leading to inappropriate publicity.

The U.S. FDA revived the premarket approval (PMA) process for Essure in April 2018. Bayer announced to remove Essure from the U.S market by December 31, 2018, over marketing reasons. There are about 12,000 adverse event reports ranging from hair loss to organ perforation against the manufacturer over failure to warn patients about the potential health risks of the device.