Google may have made it easier for people to buy Yaz online from drug makers and questionable pharmacies. As a result, Google agreed to forfeit the estimated $500 million it made from allowing online Canadian pharmacies to advertise through its AdWords program, according to a story at marketingvox.com.
Google created an online ad format that Bayer used to market its drug, the Yaz birth control pill. The ad linked users to the Yaz product site. There was a link to a short video focused on Yaz product messaging and branding. There was also a banner ad, which informed, barely, users of Yaz risks and side effects.
Google announced that it is now only accepting ads from accredited U.S. and Canadian pharmacies. Last year, Google filed a lawsuit against the “rogue pharmacies” that used Google to sell drugs illegally on the Internet.
As readers of our blog know, research linked Yaz to severe injuries, including heart attack, stroke, blood clots and death. There are literally thousands of lawsuits against Bayer in state and federal courts across the country. An earlier blog post mentioned that the judge overseeing the federal Yaz class action suit would be encouraging settlement talks among the parties.
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