American Home Products to Settle Norplant Suits

The makers of the Norplant birth control device have agreed to settle lawsuits with at least 36,000 women who say the company downplayed the side effects of the device, both sides confirmed Wednesday.

American Home Products Corp. could end up paying more than $50 million to end five years of litigation, The Dallas Morning News reported today.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the women suffered from nausea, irregular menstrual bleeding, headaches and depression after using Norplant, which consists of six silicone rods injected into the arm.

Madison, N.J.-based American Home Products and its subsidiary, Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, consistently have denied wrongdoing and said the side effects were described in the product’s labeling.

The settlement offers $1,500 to each woman who filed suit before March 1.

Lawyers representing a majority of the women have endorsed the offer, said two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Wyeth-Ayerst said the settlement “was purely a business decision.” The company has won three jury verdicts, 20 pretrial judgments and the dismissal of 14,000 claims.

“Our legal success has come at a steep price because lawsuits are time-consuming, expensive and have a chilling effect on research,” said Joseph M. Mahady, president of Wyeth-Ayerst, North America, in a written statement.

“Now that the courts have found these cases to be without merit, we can turn our attention back to providing contraceptive options for American women,” he said.