Physicians News Health news for doctors and patients.
By Alan Lyndon
The FDA announced Tuesday that the most popular “morning-after,” emergency contraceptive — Plan B One Step — is now available over the counter with no prescription to all women ages 15 and older.
“Research has shown that access to emergency contraceptive products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The data reviewed by the agency demonstrated that women 15 years of age and older were able to understand how Plan B One-Step works, how to use it properly, and that it does not prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease.”
The FDA, however, did not address a federal judge’s ruling on April 5 that gave the agency 30 days to make the drug available without a prescription to women of all ages. The FDA’s approval of Teva’s current application for Plan B One-Step is independent of that litigation and this decision is not intended to address the judge’s ruling. Prior to this decision, Plan B One Step had been restricted to women aged 17 and older.
In addition to lowering the age requirement for purchase, the product will be available directly in the family planning or female health aisles of the store. Plan B One Step will be available for sale during the retailer’s normal operating hours whether the pharmacy is open or not.
The product will now be labeled “not for sale to those under 15 years of age *proof of age required* not for sale where age cannot be verified.” Plan B One-Step will be packaged with a product code prompting a cashier to request and verify the customer’s age. A customer who cannot provide age verification will not be able to purchase the product. In addition, Teva has arranged to have a security tag placed on all product cartons to prevent theft.
There are currently three emergency contraceptive drugs marketed in the United States – Plan B One-Step, Plan B, and ella. Plan B, available from generic manufacturers, uses two doses of levonorgestrel (.75 mg in each tablet), taken 12 hours apart, and requires a prescription for women under the age of 17. Ella (ulipristal) is a prescription-only product that prevents pregnancy when taken orally within 120 hours (five days) after a contraceptive failure or unprotected sexual intercourse. The approval of Teva’s application for Plan B One-Step does not affect the prescription status of these other drugs.
Plan B One-Step will not stop a pregnancy when a woman is already pregnant, and there is no medical evidence that the product will harm a developing fetus.
