Johnson sees birth control patch prescriptions fall

US warnings regarding birth control patch Ortha Evra have caused a reduction in prescriptions.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned on November 10th that Ortha Evra, a skin patch which passes birth control hormones through the skin, exposes women to more oestrogen than other contraceptive pills. The agency enforced a large warning on its packaging, and asks women to seek medical advice.

The manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson’s Ortha-McNeil, had also announced earlier that the patch may put women at more risk of developing blood clots than it had said before. As a result, many doctors are now wary of prescribing the birth control system.

Henry Sullivant, gynaecologist and obstetrician in Memphis, Tennessee, told the Wall Street Journal that he had ceased providing prescriptions for the treatment, instead recommending that other contraceptives are used.

University health services are also beginning to stop prescribing the patches. Pennsylvania State University told the newspaper that not only will it cease prescription, but that it will also warn former students who used the patch.

Ortha Evra, which is worn for a week, has already been the subject of lawsuits from concerned patients, with some claimants alleging that the patch has caused blood clots which have lead to deaths.

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