FDA Advisory Panel Endorses Birth Control Patch Despite Higher Risk of Clots

Bloomberg: J&J Birth Control Patch Backed by FDA Advisory Panel Reviewing Clot Risks, by Anna Edney:

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s birth control patch won the backing of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the second time in two days the group endorsed a contraceptive linked to a higher risk of blood clots.

The benefits of the Ortho Evra patch outweigh the clot dangers, FDA reproductive and drug safety advisory panels said today in a 19-5 vote. The agency should change the information label to better reflect the risk, the panels said at a meeting today in Adelphi, Maryland. The agency doesn’t have to follow the recommendations. . . .