April 17, 2013
Coalition against Bayer Dangers
Annual Stockholders ‚ Meeting on April 26, 2013
We hereby notify you that we will oppose the proposals of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board as regards Items 2 and 3 of the Agenda, and will induce the other stockholders to vote in favor of the following countermotions.
Countermotion to Item 2: The actions of the members of the Board of Management are not ratified
Dangerous contraceptive pills
For years, the victims of contraceptive pills such as Yasmin and Yaz have been calling for a ban on all pills with a high risk potential. BAYER steadfastly refuses to respond to the call, even though numerous studies have documented the dangerousness of these products.
The Group has contradicted its stance by reaching settlements totaling over USD 1 billion with some 4,800 plaintiffs in the United States. There are additionally 13,600 women with whom no settlement has been reached so far. Women in European countries who have been harmed, on the other hand, have received absolutely no compensation to date.
Overall, in 2012 BAYER had to make provisions for exceptional charges of EUR 1.2 billion for further litigation. This amount exceeds the company‘s insurance cover. The cost of Yaz and Yasmin will no longer be reimbursed in the future in France because of the elevated risk associated with these products. The intention of the French government is to contain sales of these products. Moreover, the European regulatory agency EMA is reviewing the marketing authorization for these pills at the request of France.
All products containing the hormone drospirenone must be taken off the market immediately. There is no justification for maintaining the marketing authorization. However, BAYER is unlikely to take voluntary action as long as settlements to victims are lower than profits from selling the products – a cynical calculation!