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Bayer Offers $62 Billion For Monsanto While Thousands of Essure Victims Suffer

Holly Ennis May 25, 2016

05/25/2016 - Bayer AG recently offered $62 billion dollars to acquire Monsanto, which would create the world’s biggest supplier of farm chemicals and seeds, many of which are genetically modified. The completed transactions would create a giant in the industry of products including pesticides, genetically modified crops and antibiotics, creating an annual revenue of more that $67 billion.

Bayer is so eager to obtain Monsanto that it is willing to pay $122 per share for Monsanto, representing a 37 percent premium to Monsanto’s closing price on May 9, a day prior to the proposal. Meanwhile, Monsanto is positioned to reject the $62 billion takeover as too low, according to sources associated with Monsanto. Monsanto is seeking a higher price and additional time to negotiate with Bayer, although Monsanto is open to the possibilities of such a merger.

The proposed buyout has angered thousand of women nationwide who have suffered extreme injuries from Essure, a product manufactured and sold by Bayer. It is outrageous that Bayer would spend such sums to overtake an unwilling company, but refuses to address or even acknowledge the tens of thousands of women currently suffering due to its defective product. Perhaps it is because Bayer received such a minor slap on the wrist from the FDA regarding Essure. While Essure clearly should have been recalled or the PMA revoked, Essure remains on the market. Bayer continues to profit while potentially thousands more are injured. The FDA acknowledging Essure’s dangers, only required Bayer to place a black box warning on the packaging, to create a patient checklist and to undertake yet another clinical trial to be completed by Bayer.

 According to the FDA, the draft guidance issued by the FDA regarding permanent hysteroscopically-placed sterilization devices aims to increase patient and physician understanding of the potential risks associated with this type of device. The draft guidance recommends product labeling that will help to communicate to health care practitioners and patients the potential serious complications that can occur in some women. This includes a boxed warning explaining the adverse events that may be associated with these devices, including their insertion and/or removal procedures.

 The draft guidance also includes recommendations for a “patient decision checklist,” for doctors to discuss with patients to better communicate risks and help to ensure an informed decision-making process. The checklist will also help doctors discuss the importance of undergoing a “confirmation” test three months after the device is implanted to determine whether the implants are properly placed and that scar tissue has formed to prevent pregnancy. The draft guidance recommends that the checklist is completed and signed by the patient and physician prior to proceeding with a permanent hysteroscopic sterilization procedure, such as Essure.

Perhaps most insulting and outrageous is to allow Essure to remain on the market while Bayer undertakes yet another clinical trial. This study will take years, all while the product continues to be implanted into unsuspecting women, causing insurmountable harm. Shame on you, Bayer. Take your $62 billion dollars and bury Essure. Pay for the removal surgeries for the women who so desperately need the devices removed. Fairly compensate the thousands of women whose lives have been destroyed by your product. And please Bayer, stay out of birth control. Your products, Yaz birth control pills, the Mirena IUD and Essure have caused catastrophic harm to women worldwide. If you would like a free consultation on your Essure Sterilization Device claim, contact Holly Ennis at Ennis & Ennis, P.A., by going to www.ennislaw.com and completing an online case evaluation form or emailing directly to hckennis@ennislaw.com