Pfizer sued in US over contraceptive that women say caused brain tumours [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Sun 28 Sep 2025 07.00 EDT
Last modified on Sun 28 Sep 2025 08.02 EDT


The drugmaker Pfizer faces a US lawsuit brought on behalf of women who developed brain tumours, which they say are linked to their use of the company’s contraceptive injection Depo-Provera.

The class action lawsuit alleges that the US pharmaceutical company failed to warn women and doctors about an increased risk of developing an intracranial meningioma if Depo-Provera, a quarterly injection, is used for more than a year. A court hearing will take place in Pensacola, Florida, on Monday.

Since May, the number of lawsuits filed by women in the US against Pfizer has tripled to more than 1,300, which have been consolidated in the multi-district litigation, according to the law firm Levin Papantonio, which is bringing the action. The potential claim value could be several billion dollars, with the number of lawsuits expected to rise to between 5,000 and 10,000 from women in the US.

A study published in the British Medical Journal in March 2024 found that prolonged use of certain progestogen medications was linked to a greater risk of intracranial meningioma, which are tumours that form in tissues around the brain. Medroxyprogesterone acetate, sold as Depo-Provera, was linked to a 5.6-fold higher risk.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/28/pfizer-sued-in-us-over-contraceptive-that-women-say-caused-brain-tumours