In
a 21 to 5 vote yesterday, FDA advisers said that the labels on certain
oral contraceptives do not adequately reflect the risk-benefit profile
of these drugs. The pills in question contain the hormone drospirenone.
The brand names for these products include Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz and
Sayfral. Over the last two years, several large, independent studies
have suggested the rate of blood clots with drospirenone-containing
drugs is slightly higher than with other hormone-based contraceptives.
The most recent analysis by FDA estimates that 10 in 10,000 women on the
newer drugs will experience a blood clot, compared with 6 in 10,000
women on older contraceptives, which contained another hormone called
levonorgestrel, a progestin.
