Generic Version of Plan B

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Approves Generic Version of Plan B, by Brian Kalish:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a generic version of the controversial Plan B morning-after contraceptive.

For now, the generic version, made by a unit of Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., is available by prescription only for women 17 years old and younger, the FDA said in a press release.

The generic version will become available for women 18 and older without a prescription on Aug. 24, the date the marketing exclusivity for nonprescription use held by Duramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., subsidiary of Barr Pharma, maker of the original Plan B pill, ends.

The Plan B contraceptive has been shown to reduce the risk of pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after sexual intercourse.

Julie Graves Krishnaswami