Ortho Evra Press Articles

St. Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota), "Family blames birth control patch in girl's death; La Crosse couple suing Johnson & Johnson"

          Parents of a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl who died last year are suing the makers of a popular birth control patch for failing to warn people sooner about serious side effects.
          Eighth-grader Alycia Brown died of blood clots on May 7, 2004, after using Ortho Evra for about six weeks, according to the lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Madison.
          Patch maker Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical warned last week that users will be exposed to higher doses of hormones that put them at greater risk for blood clots and other side effects. The warning came after federal death and injury reports showed patch users die and suffer blood clots at a higher rate than women taking the pill. More...

The Associated Press, "Drug maker issues warning about birth-control patch"

          The makers of a popular birth-control patch warned millions of women Thursday that the patch exposes them to significantly higher doses of hormones and may put them at greater risk for blood clots and other serious side effects than previously disclosed.
          The warning from Johnson and Johnson subsidiary Ortho McNeil, makers of Ortho Evra, says women using the patch will be exposed to about 60 percent more estrogen than those using typical birth-control pills because hormones from patches get into the bloodstream and are removed from the body differently than those from pills. More...

The Gazette (Colorado Springs), "Suit: Birth control to blame for brain clot"

          Not long after Amanda Bianchi began using a birth-control patch, she started getting incapacitating headaches, numbness in her hands and ringing in her ears.
          An MRI revealed a 6- to 8-inch blood clot in her brain.
          In July, the Colorado Springs woman and nine others from across the nation filed suit against the maker of Ortho Evra, claiming they suffered "substantial physical injuries" from using the contraceptive patch. More...

The New York Post, "Patch Gals Suing; Birth-Control Danger"

          Ten women are uniting to sue the maker of a popular birth-control patch, saying the device caused them to suffer strokes and blood clots, The Post has learned.
          The suit, expected to be filed tomorrow in Superior Court in Hudson County, N.J., charges that the Ortho-Evra contraceptive patch - worn by millions in the U.S. - was "defectively designed" and is "unreasonably dangerous." More...

July 17, 2005

The Associated Press, "Birth-Control Patch May Pose Health Risk"

          About a dozen women, most in their late teens and early 20s, died last year from blood clots believed to be related to the birth-control patch Ortho Evra. Dozens more survived strokes and other clot-related problems, according to federal drug safety reports obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act request.
          Several lawsuits have already been filed by families of women who died or suffered blood clots while using the patch, and lawyers said more are planned.
          Though the Food and Drug Administration and patch-maker Ortho McNeil saw warning signs of possible problems with the patch well before it reached the market, both maintain that the patch is as safe as the pill.
          However, the reports obtained by the AP appear to indicate that in 2004 -- when 800,000 women were on the patch -- the risk of dying or suffering a survivable blood clot while using the device was about three times higher than while using birth control pills. More...

July 16, 2005

The Associated Press, "Drug company spends millions to promote the patch"

          The popularity of the birth-control patch continues to grow, fueled by millions of dollars in advertising.
           "Just peel, stick and go," says one advertisement. "On your body. Off your mind," says another.
          In an award-winning marketing blitz, Ortho McNeil set out to sell its patch directly to consumers. Magazine advertisements for the patch included nonmedicated samples. Online, customers could download a $5 coupon for the patch. Swimsuit models wore placebo patches at New York fashion shows.
          The result: In less than three years, more than 5 million women in the U.S. tried the patch. American sales of Ortho Evra were estimated at $400 million in 2004, accounting for 15 percent of the U.S. market.
          This year, however, the marketing blitz made a significant change. More...