Women may not have to rely on "the pill" anymore. Now introducing, "the patch."
Ortho-Evra, the first-ever skin patch contraceptive, was approved last week by the Food and Drug Administration. It will be available as early as spring 2002.
Dr. Patricia Stephenson, a private practice physician who was involved in testing the patch, believes the patch is as effective as oral contraceptives.
"In clinical trials, both the patch and the pill were shown to be 99 percent effective," Stephenson said. "In reality, the patch is more effective because it is easier to use."
The idea was conceived by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical but the actual match-book sized beige patch was designed by R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, a division of Johnson & Johnson Inc. It adheres to the skin and releases low levels of estrogen and progestin, the same hormones used in birth control pills. It is worn one week at a time and replaced on the same day of the week for three consecutive weeks. The fourth week is spent patch-less to allow the menstrual cycle to resume.
Stephenson believes the patch will be convenient because of the flexibility it allows.
"It is hard to remember to take a pill at the same time every day because schedules change," Stephenson said.
Women's Center Peer Health Educator Annette Martin encourages the new patch's use because women are sometimes too busy to remember.
"As a peer health educator, I would encourage women who anticipate having problems remembering to take the pill or who shy away from injections to try the patch," she said.
Second-year College student Sara Wolfe agreed.
"The patch sounds like a great idea. I think that many women will be interested because it is so simple."
The patch can be placed in a variety of places on the body including the upper torso and the upper arm. However, the preferred sites by women are the lower abdomen or buttocks because clothing normally covers these places.
"We tested different sites in the clinical trials to test for effectiveness of hormone delivery and the discreteness of location," Stephenson said.
Studies have shown that the skin patch remains in place during swimming, exercising and bathing. In clinical studies less than 2 percent of the patches had to be replaced because of complete detachment. However, Ortho-Evra Pharmaceuticals already has a plan to sell single replacement patches in the event that it should fall off.
Developers of the patch, with its one-week period, believe that Ortho-Evra may hold an important advantage in being a more convenient compliance-promoting alternative for pill users. In other words, researchers believe that birth control that is easier to use is more effective.
"Real-life experiments have shown that compliance is better with the patch than with the pill," said Sean Prichard, the communications director for the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.
One downside to the patch is that it may not be as effective as the pill is for overweight women. In another clinical trial cited by the FDA, 15 out of 3,319 women became pregnant. One-third of those who became pregnant weighed over 198 pounds suggesting a weight factor in the patch's effectiveness at preventing pregnancy.
Officials are predicting that the patch will become one of the most requested doctor-prescribed contraceptives once available to the public.
"I can tell just from the massive number of calls we have received that the patch is going to be immensely popular," Prichard said.
Currently more than 38 million American women use a form of birth control. Other options include oral contraceptives, monthly injections and a hormone-emitting contraceptive ring inserted into the vagina monthly.
Though Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical is the first company to make a contraceptive patch, other companies will spend the next few years designing patches with different combinations of hormones. Levotech Incorporated is currently working on another trans-dermal patch containing a different hormone combination.
The contraceptive skin patch may not be for everyone, but Martin says it at least offers another option.
"More alternatives for birth control are great, allowing each woman to find the one that works best for her," said Martin.
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