Orthro-Evra

Ortho Evra is a transdermal (skin) birth control patch introduced on the market in 2002 by Ortho McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Ortho Evra releases the hormones estrogen and progestin. These hormones are absorbed directly into the bloodstream, Marketed to doctors and their patients as safe and “effective as the pill but even simpler,” the Ortho Evra patch works in the same way as oral contraceptives: they both release a constant supply of hormones in order to prevent ovulation and therefore pregnancy. Women using Ortho Evra absorb about 60% more estrogen into their bodies than with the average birth control pill. Studies have demonstrated that women using the patch suffer from blood clots, strokes, pulmonary embolisms (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) at a rate of three times higher than women using oral contraceptives. Ortho Evra has been prescribed to millions of women.

It was not until July of 2005 after investigative reporters published information concerning the deaths of multiple women, many young, from blood clots a result of using the Ortho Evra patch, that  a warning was added to the label.

In 2005, In November 2005, the FDA alerted consumers and health care providers about the problems associated with the Ortho Evra birth control patch and ordered Ortho-McNeil to strengthen the drug's warning label.