Should over-the-counter birth control pills be allowed in the United States? This is what FDA will discuss in its upcoming meeting.
Birth control pills rest on a counter in Centreville, Maryland, on July 6, 2022. - The US Supreme Court ruling that overturned the right to abortion spurred a rush to prepare for an America where the procedure is banned in many states.
The French drugmaker HRA Pharma, a pharmaceutical owned by Perrigo, applied to transition its Opill pill to over-the-counter.
HRA Pharma applied to switch its birth control pill from prescription-only to OTC back in July 2022.
The French drugmaker's ongoing efforts to make Opill an OTC birth control pill aims to make contraceptive more available.
Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pills? FDA to Discuss Opill's Transition
According to USA Today's latest report, FDA will conduct a meeting this coming May to discuss if HRA Pharma's birth control pill should be made an over-the-counter drug.
Plan-B, emergency contraceptive, and Take Action, another version of the contraceptive, on the self in a drug store in Annapolis, Maryland, on July 6, 2022. - The US Supreme Court ruling that overturned the right to abortion spurred a rush to prepare for an America where the procedure is banned in many states.
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"The meeting will be held virtually on May 9, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time and May 10, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time," said FDA via its official document.
The Food and Drug Administration said that since the COVID-19 pandemic still affects some parts of the globe, the committee meeting will be conducted online.
As of writing, CDC said that hormone-based pills in the U.S. still require prescriptions before they are sold to consumers.
If FDA allows HRA Pharma's proposal, it would be the first OTC birth control pill in the United States.
Why Birth Control Pills Need Prescriptions
FDA explained that before the medicine is allowed to be sold over the counter, it needs to treat conditions that are self-diagnosed.
Aside from this, the drug should be safe and patients must be able to consume it effectively without any assistance from healthcare experts.
Birth control pills have all these requirements. However, Scientific American explained that OTC pills in the U.S. and the U.K. are commonly for short-term conditions.
If you want to learn more details about why the U.S. government doesn't allow birth control pills to be sold over the counter, just click this link.
Here are other stories we wrote about public health:
Recently, a new medicine is claimed to help terminally ill cancer patients. We also reported about the arrival of a new CT scan, developed by U.K.-based researchers, which can detect hormone-producing nodules in 10 minutes.
For more news updates about birth control pills and other drugs, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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