Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch Drug Information, including Ortho Evra Lawsuits

Information provided by Ortho Evra Lawyers at Cappolino, Dodd & Krebs, LLP

A contraceptive patch for women came on the market in 2002. The prescription drug, sold under the name "Ortho Evra," allows women to receive birth control medicine through a patch placed on their skin. The patch delivers its dosage over the course of a week, as opposed to birth control pills which must be taken daily.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a change to the label of Ortho Evra on November 11, 2005. The change was a warning to women that they were being exposed to a higher level of estrogen than previously thought. The FDA warned that women were being exposed to as much as 60 percent more estrogen than women on the pill.

This exposure to high levels of estrogen has been linked Ortho Evra side effects including an increased danger of blood clots in the legs or lungs as well as heart attack and stroke. The FDA information also shows that women who use the Ortho Evra patch are three times more likely to develop blood clots than women who use birth control pills.

Information disclosed by the FDA also shows that 23 women using the patch died and as many as 17 of those deaths may have been related to blood clots. There is cause for concern because the FDA itself estimates that it receives reports from only one to ten percent of the cases involving adverse drug reactions, therefore, the number of clot-related problems and deaths could very well be much higher.

The Ortho Evra patch was introduced in 2002 and over five million women have used the patch. The new warning label has been placed on the product to make users aware of the risk, but the drug has not been pulled from the market. The maker of Ortho Evra has vowed to launch its own study of blood clots and strokes associated with the use of the patch. However, there are reports that crucial data relating to these "thrombotic injuries" from their original clinical trials was downplayed in their marketing campaign which was launched when the drug was approved. This could lead to many Ortho Evra lawsuits.

The symptoms of blood clots are many. They include sharp chest pain and coughing of blood which is caused by clots in the lungs; pain in the calves caused by clots in the legs; sudden vision loss, caused by clots in the eye; or sudden and severe headaches, vomiting, dizziness, falling and problems with speech and eyesight (a stroke, possibly caused by clots in the brain).

If you or a loved one was injured after using the Ortho Evra Patch, you may have grounds for an Ortho Evra lawsuit; please contact an Ortho Evra lawyer at our law firm today for a free consultation.