The pill is finally on its way to be over-the-counter in the US
The FDA is reviewing an OTC evaluation for hormonal birth control pills
Sixty-two years after the US was the first country to offer women hormonal birth control—commonly known as “the pill”—the 12 million American women who take it might finally be able to get it without prescription.
Today, HRA Pharma, a French drugmaker owned by Irish pharmaceutical company Perrigo, filed an application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make its contraceptive pill available over the counter. The drug, with the brand name of Opill, is a progestin-only birth control pill to be taken daily. It is also known as “mini-pill” because unlike the more common combination pill, it does not contain estrogen, and has a lower dose of progestin, too.
Last year, the same company obtained a license to sell an over-the-counter progestin-only pill in the UK, making it the first western country to approve such sale.
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