Mirena Breast Cancer Class Action Proceeds in Calif.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge has refused to dismiss a class action accusing Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. of failing to warn that its Mirena intrauterine contraceptive device can cause breast cancer, ruling the claims are not preempted by federal law.

In an Oct. 5 order, Judge Beth L. Freeman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found the plaintiff showed Bayer had “newly acquired evidence” in the form of at least three studies that would have warranted a label change pursuant to the FDA’s Changes Being Effected (CBE) regulation.

Mirena, a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine …