Maker of Birth Control Patch Facing Numerous Lawsuits

By Daniel Hawn

Published on December 11, 2006

The other suits filed against the drug maker comprise both serious injuries and blood clots attributed to the patch, including a 16-year-old girl in Indiana who allegedly suffered three strokes after using the contraceptive.

It is estimated that over 4 million women have used the patch since its approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001. It works much the same way as a daily birth control pill by releasing the hormones progestin and estrogen into the blood stream. However, women using the patch are exposed to 60 percent more estrogen than those using the pill, potentially increasing their chances of incurring a blood clot or some other serious injury.

In September, Ortho-McNeil updated the patch's product label after a study concluded that women who used the patch were twice as likely to develop blood clots as women who used the pill. The pharmaceutical giant has given no indication that it plans to take the patch out of distribution.

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