US FDA staff raises concerns over OTC use of Perrigo's birth control pill (updated)

Perrigo

05/05/2023 16:17

(Adds shares in paragraph 1, adds background)
       May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration
reviewers on Friday raised concerns about allowing
over-the-counter use of Perrigo Co's  PRGO.N  birth control
drug, saying consumers may not correctly follow directions for
using the pill, driving the company's shares 2% lower.
    The staff's review of the application comes ahead of an
advisers' meeting next week, where the panel members will decide
on recommending the non-estrogen contraceptive as a daily OTC
birth control pill. 
    The drug, Opill, is expected to be the first such OTC pill
in the United States if approved.
    Contraceptives have been in focus since the U.S. Supreme
Court last year overturned the constitutional right to terminate
pregnancies as it scrapped a landmark ruling in the 1973 Roe vs.
Wade case.

 (Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta and Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((Leroy.Dsouza@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeroyLeo7))