Ortho Evra Information

Drug Litigation

Increased risk of blood clots leads to heart attacks and strokes

On November 11 2005, the FDA issued a warning for the patch, saying,

"women who use Ortho Evra are exposed to about 60 percent more total estrogen in their blood than if they were taking a typical birth control pill containing 35 micrograms of estrogen."

Increased estrogen exposure increases the risk of blood clots that can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and pulmonary embolisms. It is the only form of birth control that comes in a patch.

Since the Ortho Evra contraceptive patch was first approved by the FDA in November, 2001, over 10 million prescriptions have been written for it and over 5 million women have relied on it for the prevention of pregnancy.

The Ortho Evra patch contains a combination of two hormones: norelgestromin (progestin) and ethinyl estradiol (estrogen), embedded in an adhesive patch similar to a bandaid, that are released into the bloodstream transdermally when applied to the skin. The patch is worn continuously for a week at a time, three weeks a month, with a week off during menstruation.

Ortho Evra is made by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson with headquarters in New Jersey. Ortho markets the patch as a convenient, trendy alternative to birth control pills, that eliminates the risk of unintended pregnancy from forgetting to take the pill.

Between April 2002 and December 2004, there were more than 500 serious adverse medical events associated with the patch but only 61 from the most commonly prescribed form of birth control pill.

You can read the new labeling information, as well as other information for health care providers and consumers, online at:

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/orthoevra/default.htm.

If you had a heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) or pulmonary embolism while using the patch, you have a potential case.

How do I make a claim or get more information?

We are not licensed in all states, but we have alliances with lawyers in states where we are not licensed.

We will not put your case into a class action. It will be handled as an individual case, and individual attention will be paid to it.

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