Latest Mifepristone Stories
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley [R-Iowa] is continuing to criticize what he considers to be the troubling industry ties of some medical researchers and doctors. Grassley serves as the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. In early June, he released information alleging a group of Harvard psychiatrists received more than $4 million from drug companies that they didn't report to the university. On June 23, he...
The oral use of RU-486's companion drug misoprostol is safe but vaginal use may undermine the body's immune response, U.S. researchers suggest. University of Michigan scientists says that the drug misoprostol is U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved to be taken by mouth along with RU-486 to end a pregnancy. However, many women have received the drug vaginally as part of the two-drug combination, a method of delivery not evaluated by the FDA, Dr. David Aronoff says. The study,...
By Lisa Richwine WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "morning-after" contraceptive pill can be sold to those 18 and older in the United States without a prescription, the Food and Drug Administration ruled on Thursday, ending a three-year battle over the morality of wider access and use by teenagers. The FDA ordered Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B pills must stay behind pharmacy counters to prevent those under 18 from receiving the drug without a prescription. Backers welcomed the decision...
By Lisa Richwine WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "morning-after" contraceptive pill can be sold to those 18 and older in the United States without a prescription, the Food and Drug Administration ruled on Thursday, ending a three-year battle over the morality of wider access and use by teenagers. The FDA ordered Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B pills must stay behind pharmacy counters to prevent those under 18 from receiving the drug without a prescription. Backers welcomed the decision...
By Lisa Richwine WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A "morning-after" contraceptive can be sold to adults in the United States without a prescription, health officials ruled on Thursday, ending a three-year fight over wider access and use by teenagers. The Food and Drug Administration said Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B pills must stay behind pharmacy counters to prevent girls under 18 from getting the drug without a doctor's order. Backers welcomed the decision but balked at the age limit,...
By Lisa Richwine WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Adult women can buy a "morning-after" contraceptive without a prescription, U.S. health officials said on Thursday after a three-year political battle over wider access. Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B must stay behind pharmacy counters, the Food and Drug Administration said. Women must show proof they are at least 18 to buy the emergency contraceptive pills without a prescription, and younger girls still need a doctor's order. "When used as...
By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Monday he supports restricting access to emergency contraception for minors, as regulators weigh wider access to the "morning-after" pill. Bush's comment was his first direct public statement on the politically charged issue that has delayed a Senate confirmation vote on his nominee to head the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Andrew von Eschenbach. While he did not specifically support wider access to the drug,...
By Lisa Richwine WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Non-prescription sales of a "morning-after" contraceptive could be approved for women 18 and older within weeks, U.S. health officials said on Monday after years of weighing whether to make Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B pills more easily available. The Plan B decision has seen the Food and Drug Administration lobbied relentlessly by supporters and critics of the drug and has held up confirmation of an FDA chief. "We would like to meet with...
By Lisa Richwine WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Non-prescription sales of a "morning-after" contraceptive could be approved for women 18 and older within weeks, U.S. health officials said on Monday in a surprise announcement after years of delays. Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B pills would be kept behind pharmacy counters and women would need to ask for them, a Food and Drug Administration official said. Anyone younger than 18 still would need a prescription. "If the conversations go...
By Lisa Richwine WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Non-prescription sales of a "morning-after" contraceptive could be approved for women 18 and older within weeks, U.S. health officials said on Monday in a surprise announcement after years of delays. Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B pills would be kept behind pharmacy counters and women would need to ask for them, a Food and Drug Administration official said. Anyone younger than 18 still would need a prescription. "If the conversations go...
