What is Yaz?
YAZ and Yasmin are birth control pills, or oral contraceptives, currently manufactured by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Yasmin was originally made by Berlex Laboratories, which was acquired by Bayer in 2006.
Ocella is the generic equivalent of Yasmin. The Ocella pill is currently manufactured by Teva Pharmaceuticals. Ocella was originally made by Barr Laboratories, which was acquired by Teva in 2008.
What Are We Investigating?
Each of these birth control pills contain ethinyl estradiol and the new "fourth generation" progestin drospirenone (DRSP). Drospirenone is already well-known for increasing the risk for hyperkalemia. However, these DRSP oral contraceptives have also been associated with adverse side effects such as:
- Blood Clots
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
- Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
- Stroke
- Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVA)
- Heart Attack
- Myocardial Infarction
- Gallbladder Disease / Injury
- Gallbladder Removal (cholecystectomy)
- Kidney Failure or Renal Failure
- Pancreatitis
- Death