Spain Bans Bayer Essure Sterilization Coils

Spanish Ministry of Health has called Bayer to withdraw contraceptive Essure

Posted On 20 Dec 2017By : Bioethics Observatory - Institue of Life Sciences UCVComment: 0

After civil proceedings were opened against pharmaceutical company Bayer all over the world because of the higher risks of serious adverse reactions associated with its contraceptives (see HERE), now, under the authority of the Ministry of Health of Spain, has called for pharmaceutical giant Bayer to stop marketing the contraceptive Essure and to withdraw it from the market, ” as it does not have a valid CE marking certificate”. Thus, as a precautionary measure to avoid birth control implant risks, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) has ordered health centers and professionals who have Essure to stop using it.

The AEMPS note explains that “Essure® is a permanent contraceptive system, designed to be used as a micro-insert to block the Fallopian tubes and that acts mechanically by causing a foreign body reaction that causes blockage of the tube”. It adds that “it is not advisable to remove the device or modify the follow-up guidelines of users.” Suspension of the certificate was effective from 3 August 2017 for a period of 90 days until 2 November 2017. On 4 August, the European Union took the decision to suspend the marketing of these sterilization implants for three months, after the body responsible for renewing the certification required additional elements before reaching a decision (see further information HERE)

FDA Fails to Protect Patients from PREVENTABLE Bayer Essure Harm.

Women harmed by sterilization coils push FDA to act

Updated: JUNE 6, 2017 — 7:38 PM EDT

by Marie McCullough, Staff Writer mmccullough@phillynews.com

The ranks of women harmed by Essure sterilization coils continue to grow, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s efforts to inform them of the risks are not working, a 37,000-member advocacy group declared Tuesday.

Administrators of the six-year-old Facebook group Essure Problems said that in the first quarter of this year, the FDA received about 2,000 reports of women who underwent operations — usually hysterectomies — to remove coils that were causing complications such as pain and bleeding.

More than 9,000 removals have been reported since 2009, in addition to miscarriages, fetal deaths, and other problems, according to an analysis of the FDA’s “adverse events” reporting system. It was conducted by Madris Tomes, a former FDA manager who is the founding CEO of Device Events, based in York, Pa.

Angie Marie Firmalino, 44, a co-founder of the Essure Problem group on Facebook

“More than 15,500 adverse-event reports have been filed,” said Essure Problems cofounder Angie Marie Firmalino, 44, of Tannersville, N.Y., who needed a hysterectomy to get rid of fragments of broken coils. “We feel like the FDA needs to step in and take action. How much harm is acceptable for a non-lifesaving device?”

Asked for comment, the FDA said it “continues to review the available information about Essure, including reports of problems submitted to the FDA.”

The manufacturer, Bayer Healthcare, emailed: “We take all adverse events seriously. … We have reached out to many women who have reported complications … and provided any guidance we can. There are risks with all medical procedures.”

Surgeries to Remove Essure

This analysis of data from the FDA’s voluntary adverse events reporting system shows how many women needed surgery — either hysterectomy or fallopian tube removal — to remove the Essure sterilization coils because of severe problems such as pain and bleeding. Reports have been steadily increasing with growing awareness of the dangers.

Essure Problems has been among those pushing the FDA since 2013 to take Essure off the market. The coils, approved 15 years ago, are implanted in the fallopian tubes to scar them shut. The device is marketed as a simple, nonsurgical alternative to conventional tubal surgery.

Last year, the FDA ordered Bayer to add label warnings that Essure can cause chronic pain, organ perforation, and allergic reactions, and to create a “patient decision checklist.”

But about 200 women have contacted Essure Problems over the last six months to say that doctors did not tell them about the label warnings or use the three-page checklist.

“Unfortunately for many women, they are being implanted without informed consent,” administrators of the Facebook group emailed the FDA on Monday, demanding tougher action.

The FDA’s response, shared by the group: “We understand your frustration. We assure you, Essure is a high-priority issue for the Agency and we continue to take feedback like yours into consideration.”

Bayer, which acquired Essure in 2013, has been hit by thousands of lawsuits over the coils. Last year, the German-based company’s annual report said it incurred losses of $413 million in connection with the devices.

Bayer has said it does not know how many women have implants, just that about a million Essure “kits” had been sold worldwide, most in the U.S. The company recently announced it would discontinue sales in two small markets, Finland and the Netherlands.

Bayer Essure: Banned in Finland, the Netherlands, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Brazil

MORE PRESSURE ON BAYER AND FDA AS ESSURE DISCONTINUED IN UNITED KINGDOM

Holly Kelly Ennis

June 7, 2017  FiDA highlight

Victims of Essure celebrated again today after learning that the controversial Essure Sterilization device will be discontinued in the United Kingdom as of September 1, 2017. This follows on the heels of Essure being banned by Brazil in February and recently discontinued in Finland and The Netherlands, with rumors of other countries to follow by the end of the Summer. Bayer recently confirmed it will discontinue sales in the United Kingdom set forth in the letter below:

As Bayer discontinues the sale of the Essure device or countries ban it outright, this exerts greater pressure on the FDA to take affirmative action regarding  pulling the device from the market. For over three years, since the Essure Problems Administrators first shared their valid concerns regarding the device, they have heard the same tired response from the FDA, "We understand your frustration. We assure you, Essure is a high-priority issue for the Agency and we continue to take feedback like yours into consideration." Obviously, the FDA is not hearing the Group's concerns, nor is it a high priority.  In fact, despite repeated pleas from the Group regarding the making the Black Box Warning mandatory to physicians, the FDA designated it as a "guidance."  Accordingly, over 200 hundred women have contacted the Group since the BBW was implemented on November 15, 2016 to report that doctors failed to mention the BBW or use the Patient Decision Checklist.

The FDA responded yesterday that it, "continues to review the available information about Essure, including reports of problems submitted to the FDA."  These reports now total over 15,000 with over 9,000 reports of surgical removals since 2009. How long will the FDA continue to "review" the horrific stories of ladies significantly injured by the device before it takes some definitive action and revokes the PMA for the device? The job of the FDA is to protect the health of American citizens, not line the pockets of pharmaceutical and medical device companies. FDA, it  is time. Do Your Job. 

Questions regarding the Essure Sterilization Device can be directed to attorney Holly Ennis at 1-800-856-6405 or visit us online at www.Ennislaw.com

http://www.ennislaw.com/blog/more-pressure-bayer-and-fda-essure-discontinued-united-kingdom/

No Objective Patient Outcome Data: Sacrificial Lambs

Women's health rally hopes to change legislation

Updated: May 07, 2017 9:51 AM CDT

By Kent Luetzen

MISSOULA -

Women from around the country who have been harmed by medical devices such as Essure --  a type of birth control -- used their voices to rally on Saturday. One rally was held in Missoula in hopes of raising awareness about what they call "hidden dangers" of some FDA-approved products. 

The group says women deserve better communication from doctors on the side effects of products and for manufacturers to not hide behind the FDA's pre-market approval certification.

For some of these women, products which were said to be safe have caused serious health issues including autoimmune diseases such as eczema, lupus and celiac disease.

Ray Curtis, who’s wife died from hysterectomy complications, is hoping Montana legislators will continue their work to protect women.

"They're (treated) almost like human guinea pigs. These devices are being used for purposes they weren't intended to be used for," Curtis said.  "Legislation can bring about awareness to begin with, but also get government to protect woman who are unsuspected like my wife and me... we didn't know.."

Missoula's rally was just one of over 20 throughout the United States.

Essure: Hazardous Birth Control Implant?

Warning: This Birth Control ProductMay Be Hazardous to Your Health

Posted: 11/19/2013 1:36 pm

 by guest blogger Diana Zuckerman, PhD, president of the National Research Center for Women & Families

"Was I just unlucky, or is this medical product not really safe?" That's a question I get asked often, and was recently asked about Essure, a "permanent birth control" device made by Bayer.

At first it seemed these women were just unlucky. But after gathering more information, it now looks like there could be much greater risks than patients are being advised of.

In case you're wondering, permanent birth control means sterilization. The purpose of Essure is to prevent a woman from ever getting pregnant again. For some women, preventing any future pregnancies could save their lives. So it is obviously a problem when Essure doesn't work and women get pregnant, which was one of the problems I heard about. But I also heard from women who were in terrible, unrelenting pain, feeling that their lives had been ruined by this product.

Since National Research Center for Women and Families is known as an objective source of medical information and isn't on the payroll of any companies, the women asked, "What do you know?" and "Is this product really safe, or are there a lot of other women like me?" And also, "Can you warn other women?"

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has much lower standards for medical implants than it does for prescription drugs, so I checked out Essure on the FDA website and was pleasantly surprised to see that the FDA had required clinical trials, which the agency often doesn't require for implants. These studies of women with Essure implants showed that Essure patients had a rather low rate of complications.

The studies showed that the main problem was that sometimes the device fell out. If the woman didn't realize it, she could get pregnant. If she did realize it, she'd need to get a replacement implant or use another type of birth control.

There was about a 5 percent rate of serious complications reported--not great (especially if a complication happens to somebody we care about), but not a bad rate, either. Since all birth control has some risks (such as potentially fatal blood clots), and since pregnancy has rather substantial health risks (an even greater risk of potentially fatal blood clots), the studies of Essure seemed reassuring (no pun intended).

Sometimes studies can be deceiving, however, especially when conducted by the company trying to sell you the product. An NBC news investigative team interviewed Kim Hudak, one of the women in the study who has had terrible pain in the years since she got Essure. The reporters found that the telephone surveys and medical visits that were used to provide data for the company's study had yielded information about her terrible health problems after Essure but hadn't counted them as complications. The health professionals conducting the study had made very subjective decisions: for example, that excruciating pain in the same part of her body as the Essure device somehow was unrelated to Essure and therefore needn't be counted as a complication. Instead, they reported Kim's experience with Essure as "excellent" and Kim as "very satisfied." Meanwhile, Kim was in excruciating pain--and had gained 100 pounds from the medications she was given as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong. Kim told me that she thought her health problems might possibly be caused by Essure but believed the doctor when he told her they weren't.

Eventually, Kim was in so much pain that she ignored the doctor's advice and had her Essure implant removed. Kim told me that her health has dramatically improved ever since, and she has lost most of the weight she had gained.

This is not the story of one woman. It's a story about how poorly conducted research provides inaccurate information that can potentially harm thousands if not millions of patients. Whether the study was intentionally fraudulent or just badly conducted by some of the medical professionals involved, the results are the same for Kim and anyone misled by the completely inaccurate reporting of her terrible medical problems. The fact that Bayer was accused just two years ago of covering up deaths from Yasmin, another one of its birth control products, does add extra drama. Can the company's studies be trusted? And should the FDA do a better job of scrutinizing them?

It doesn't take much to monitor these studies. For example, you can see in Kim's study survey where her health problems were clearly written and then somebody crossed them out, added his or her initials to show this was an official revision, and changed the answer from "Yes" (I have health problems since getting Essure) to "No." The woman interviewing Kim also checked "excellent" and "very satisfied."

If that had only happened to Kim and nobody else, then perhaps Essure could be almost as safe as the company reported. But the same people who collected data on Kim also "studied" other women, so it's likely that such changes and inaccuracies happened numerous times. That would mean that FDA's decision to approve Essure was based on inaccurate information.

Instead of monitoring the company's studies, unfortunately, the FDA has defended them. While the NBC investigative reporters were gathering information, the FDA wrote a new article for its website defending the safety of Essure.

As a person who uses medical products, what can you do to make sure you aren't harmed by implants or medications that aren't really safe? There is no easy answer. But there are a few things you can do:

.                Before starting a new medication or agreeing to a new medical implant or device, go online. Go to your favorite search engine and type in the name of the product and the word "problems" or "risks" or "complications." That will usually take you to web pages that list the possible problems with the product. You can even go to the official website for the product. Although a company's website will advertise how great the product is, by law the company is also required to list all the possible complications that the FDA has found. This isn't a perfect source of information (as my Essure example shows), but it will provide some warnings of what the risks are.

.                For prescription drugs, you can also go the ConsumerReport.org's Best Buy Drugs website to get information that compares the drug you are considering with other drugs that can be used for the same purpose. The site doesn't have information about all drugs, but it does have good comparison information about many widely used drugs.

.                Check out www.center4research.org and www.stopcancerfund.org for information about many drugs and devices. And, if you are having trouble finding the information you're looking for, you can contact our Center's free hotline at info@center4research.org to ask us. You'll receive a free, personal response within days.

One more thing to remember: The newest medical products are often not the best, even though they're the most expensive. FDA approves new medical products on the basis of information that is provided by the company making the product. It isn't until the product has been used by many thousands of patients in the real world that it's possible to learn what all the risks are and how it compares to other treatments.

Diana Zuckerman is the president of the National Research Center for Women & Families. She received her PhD from Ohio State University and was a post-doctoral fellow in epidemiology and public health at Yale Medical School. After serving on the faculty of Vassar and Yale and as a researcher at Harvard, Dr. Zuckerman spent a dozen years as a health policy expert in the U.S. Congress and a senior policy adviser in the Clinton White House. She is the author of five books, several book chapters, and dozens of articles in medical and academic journals as well as in newspapers across the country.