The Food and Drug Administration has delayed the approval of a new type of birth control which is taken every day and prevents many women from getting their period at all when taken properly.
The new birth control pill, known as Lybrel, is manufactured by Wyeth. It has been proven 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancy in clinical tests. In addition, 70.8 percent of women were period free within seven months of beginning the pill.
Unlike most birth control pills, Lybrel is taken every day. Other forms of 'the pill' use sugar pills or placebos during one week of the month or the woman takes no pill at all.
According to Wyeth, the FDA requested more time in order to review how the company's proposed manufacturing method for the pill affects its shelf life. There were also concerns about the dropout rate of subjects in studies and the rate of pregnancy and bleeding patterns in users of Lybrel.
Another meeting to discuss Lybrel has been scheduled by the FDA for later this year.
