Pfizer Faces US Lawsuits After Study Links Depo-Provera Birth Control to Higher Risk of Brain Tumors

Benzinga Newsdesk 24-Jul-2025 7:07 AM

A new study published on 29 June 2025 in international peer-reviewed medical journal Expert Opinion on Drug Safety by Frey et al. (the Frey study) has found that use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), which is manufactured by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and sold under the brand name Depo-Provera among others, for over one year is associated with a 3.5-fold increased risk of developing an intracranial meningioma, a type of brain tumour, compared to the use of the combined birth control pill Ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel (EE-LNG). The study used a database of 114 million unique individuals in its research. Expert Opinion on Drug Safety is an international subscription-based medical journal published by Informa4 publishing rigorously peer-reviewed articles on all aspects of drug safety.

A Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 3140) is being brought on behalf of women in the USA who developed meningiomas after receiving at least 4 consecutive injections of Pfizer's Depo-Provera (DMPA). One of the law firms appointed to the Plaintiff's Executive Committee responsible for overseeing the MDL is Levin Papantonio. Virginia Buchanan, Partner at Levin Papantonio, is the court-appointed co-chair of the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee and member of the Trial Committee and Chris Paulos, Partner at Levin Papantonio, is the court-appointed liaison counsel for Plaintiffs.

The lawsuits allege that Pfizer was aware of the link between these birth control injections and brain tumours and that they failed to adequately warn of the risk and promote safer alternatives. Pfizer has acknowledged its awareness of the risks linked to long-term use of the drug and added warning labels in Canada in 2015, and in the UK and Europe in October 2024 following the Roland study published in the British Medical Journal. On 25 February 2025, Pfizer issued a note to healthcare professionals in South Africa warning that DMPA can cause meningiomas and should not be used by patients with a history of the condition. However, Pfizer has never provided an equivalent warning to women in the United States, highlighting inconsistent global safety standards.

Law firms are also investigating potential class actions in other jurisdictions, including in Europe, Australia, South Africa and Canada.