The leading Canadian health agency has warned of dozens of reports of women who experienced Ortho Evra side effects after using the birth control patch. In the January issue of the Canadian Adverse Reactions Newsletter published by Health Canada, the agency says that at least 93 women have suffered blood clots, heart attack or other Ortho Evra side effects, including at least two deaths, since the patch went on the market. (more…)

The Food and Drug Administration has strengthened a warning about the risk of serious blood clots among women who use the Ortho Evra patch. The label for the birth control patch will now contain a warning about the risk of venous blood clots for Ortho Evra users. These clots may become life-threatening if they travel to the lungs, which may result in a pulmonary embolism. (more…)

New documents have revealed that a Johnson & Johnson vice president—the manufacturer of the patch—resigned in over the company’s repeated efforts to downplay the risk of Ortho Evra side effects. A letter by the executive—whose name was redacted by the court—was recently unsealed as part of a group of 400 Ortho Evra lawsuits that have been filed in New Jersey. (more…)

According to the results of a recent study, women who use the Ortho Evra patch face more than twice the risk of blood clots than those who use birth control pills. The results of the study were reported in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. (more…)

The Food and Drug Administration’s birth control advisory committee says that the agency should not put limits on the acceptable failure rate of birth control devices. The committee says that doing so would limit the availability of contraceptives with a lower hormone dose that have other health benefits or fewer side effects. (more…)