US FDA panel to discuss Perrigo's daily OTC birth-control pill in May

Washington: The US Food and Drug Administration plans to hold an advisory panel meeting to discuss Perrigo Company Plc's over-the-counter (OTC) birth control pill in May, the drugmaker said on Tuesday.

The panel will decide on recommending the non-estrogen contraceptive as a daily OTC birth control pill on May 9 and 10. The drug, Opill, is expected to be the first such pill in the United States if approved.

Opill, which has been used with a prescription since its approval in 1973, was due for review in November last year, but the FDA delayed that meeting to review additional information.

Contraceptives have been in focus since abortion rights were curtailed in 2022 when the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies as it scrapped a landmark ruling in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade case.