October 1, 2001



Birth Control Pill Makers Face Lawsuit in UK



LONDON (Reuters Health) - The three companies making third-
generation contraceptive pills--Schering, Organon and Wyeth--face 
multi-million pound compensation claims on behalf of British 
women who have died and suffered disability, the women's lawyers 
said on Monday.



Houghton & Co. Solicitors said in a statement it was representing 
123 claimants in a group action that would go to trial in the High 
Court in London next January.



``It is the claimants' case that third-generation pills have an 
increased risk for pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, 
paradoxical embolism. Other conditions and injuries that have been 
suffered have included death, paralysis and life-long disabilities, 
due to clots in the deep veins,'' the firm said.



``We are confident that all the evidence is now in place to 
establish that the risks associated with third-generation oral 
contraceptive pills are greater than those of their predecessor pills 
and that the manufacturers should have carried out research into 
this and taken steps to protect the public,'' they continued.



The firm issued its statement following Friday's announcement by 
the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) confirming the 
increased risk of the third-generation pills.



Both second- and third-generation birth control pills contain a 
form of estrogen called ethinylestradiol coupled with another 
hormone called a progestin. The difference between the two types of 
pills is the type of progestin they contain. The newer contraceptives 
contain either desogestrel or gestodene, and the older ones contain 
levonorgestrel or norgestrel.



Chris Tagg, an associate at the law firm, told APM-Reuters, ''We 
are very happy with what we have just read because it confirms 
there is an increased risk. It now means that it is not really 
arguable.''



He said the claimants included the families of five teenagers who 
had died, as well as young women who had been paralysed and were 
now confined to wheelchairs. Other women had suffered painful deep 
vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and strokes.



The amount of compensation being sought has not been stated 
publicly but Tagg said it could clearly total millions of pounds.



A spokeswoman for Schering told APM-Reuters that the company 
would ``vigorously defend'' the action. Schering did not accept the 
EMEA conclusion about the increased risk of third-generation pills.