Pfizer Accused of Hiding Contraceptive’s Brain Tumor Link (1)

Pfizer Inc. failed to warn patients that its injectable contraceptive drug Depo-Provera can increase the risk of developing brain tumors, a new lawsuit alleged.

“For several decades the manufacturers and sellers of Depo-Provera and its authorized generic and generic analogues” had a responsibility to investigate whether the medication could contribute to the growth of brain tumors, according to the complaint filed Monday in the US District Court for the Central District of California.

Plaintiff Taylor Devorak alleged that researchers have found Depo-Provera and similar progesterone medications have been linked to a greater incidence of brain tumors called intracranial meningioma. She’s seeking damages on her failure-to-warn, defective design, negligence, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty claims against the pharmaceutical giant.

Devorak’s complaint comes in the wake of a handful of substantially similar lawsuits filed in other federal courts in California and Indiana in recent weeks.

“Depo-Provera has been an FDA-approved medication for more than 30 years and has been a safe and effective treatment option for millions of patients during that time. The company will vigorously defend these lawsuits,” a spokesperson for the company said Tuesday.

The American label for Depo-Provera “still makes no mention of the increased risk to patients of developing intracranial meningiomas,” even though the EU and UK now list meningioma under the medication’s warning section, Devorak’s complaint said.

Devorak cited a 2024 study published in the British Medical Journal that said prolonged use of medroxyprogesterone acetate medications like Depo-Provera were found to significantly increase the risk of developing intracranial meningioma.
Pfizer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Devorak is represented by Weitz & Luxenberg PC.

The case is Devorak v. Pfizer Inc., C.D. Cal., No. 5:24-cv-02349, complaint filed 11/4/24.