None of the expert witnesses offered by the plaintiffs in a massive multidistrict litigation over alleged side effects to contraceptive implants manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Bayer will be allowed to testify, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York ruled Wednesday.

The 150-plus page order dealt a significant blow to the 113 cases that stretched across 17 districts now proceeding in Manhattan federal court. The plaintiffs contend that the company’s female contraception implant Mirena caused a disease that caused increased fluid in the skull that can lead, in the most extreme cases, to blindness.