Bayer Reserves $1.47B To Settle Essure Lawsuits

Bayer Reserves $1.47B To Settle Essure Lawsuits

Introduction

On Monday, Bayer officials in a press release about second-quarter earnings indicated that the company has set aside 1.25 billion euros ($1.47 billion) to settle lawsuits brought by thousands of women claiming they suffered devastating injuries from the birth control device, Essure.

Conceptus Inc., a subsidiary of Bayer AG, developed Essure which is a Class III device for permanent surgical sterilization in women. Essure was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 4, 2002. The device has two metal coils made from polyester fibers, nickel-titanium, stainless steel, and solder which are placed in fallopian tubes to induce fibrosis and block the fallopian tubes to prevent fertilization. Since 2002, it is estimated by Bayer that 750,000 women have received the Essure IUD.

The report follows a recent $10 billion settlement proposal made by the company over its controversial weedkiller Roundup. The German pharmaceutical company noted that both the litigations incur $11.2 billion loss in the second quarter of the year.

Bayer in the report also stated that it established appropriate provisions in the second quarter as the Essure litigation made good progress in recent weeks.

Last month, the legal public watchdog group, Public Justice, published an article revealing hundreds of recently unsealed documents over the complications associated with Essure. The documents indicate that the manufacturer was aware of the problems since it acquired Conceptus, the original creator of the Essure design, in 2013, and may have hidden the reports.

Bayer is currently facing 18,000 lawsuits nationwide, each claiming that the birth control device is defectively designed, and the women experienced painful and debilitating complications, including migration injuries, perforations, severe reactions, and other problems.