Bayer to Stop Selling Contraceptive Implant Essure After Threats by FDA
- Women blamed device for organ damage, bleeding, chronic pan
- Essure used by more than 750,000 worldwide, agency estimates
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Bayer AG said it would discontinue sales of a female contraceptive implant in the U.S., citing business reasons. The decision comes after the Food and Drug Administration threatened the company with civil and criminal penalties if it didn’t do more to warn patients about the product’s serious health risks.
Bayer said in a statement Friday that it will stop marketing the Essure device in the U.S. after Dec. 31 because a decline in sales made the business unsustainable. The German drugmaker said it would continue to stand behind the product’s safety and efficacy. The company halted sales of the device outside the U.S. last year.