Merck & Co to Pay $100 Million in Contraceptive Suit

U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co has said it will pay $100 million to resolve all U.S. product liability lawsuits alleging it downplayed serious health risks involving its NuvaRing intrauterine contraceptive device.

The product, which contains the hormones estrogen and progestin commonly found in birth control bills, is associated with an increased risk of developing blood clots that can cause heart attacks, strokes or sudden deaths. On the U.S. market since 2001, it is one of several contraceptive products linked to this higher risk.

Merck, the second largest U.S. pharmaceutical player, denied any fault under the agreement, which must be accepted by 95% of about 3,800 eligible patients involved in lawsuits pending in federal and state courts.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the settlement, reached after nearly a year of negotiations, is "an outstanding result and in the best interests of all the women who have suffered an injury associated with the use of Nuvaring."

Under the settlement, Merck would pay a fraction of what at least one company has paid in a similar settlement.

In 2013, Germany's Bayer said it had paid nearly $1.6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits involving accusations that it's Yaz and Yazmin birth control pills caused blood clots that led to strokes and heart attacks.