ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 16, 1997 TAG: 9701160028
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
A decision Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories made a year ago to move some manufacturing from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico has created unexpected side effects for 175,000 American women.
The women had been buying Wyeth-Ayerst's oral contraceptive Triphasil in a special low-cost pack distributed through Planned Parenthood clinics, including those Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge operates in Roanoke, Blacksburg and Lynchburg.
The Pennsylvania plant was the only production facility for the packet, which sold at $14 for a 28-day supply. Students paid $10.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America is a major customer for oral contraceptives prescribed by the 900 clinics its affiliates operate. Most health insurance plans do not pay for birth control pills, so the clinics' low-cost packs are popular.
Planned Parenthood Federation buys 8.5million oral conceptive cycle packs annually to serve about 1.2million patients, said Wendy Lund, vice president of marketing.
Triphasil accounts for 1.4million cycle packs, Lund said.
When the drug maker got behind in orders in October because of the manufacturing time lost moving the pack production, clinics tried to shift supplies to help out each other.
Kathleen O'Malley, director of the Roanoke clinic, said the Blue Ridge clinics haven't received shipments for several months, but other clinics had shared their supplies.
"As of December, we didn't have any and couldn't get any," O'Malley said.
All clinics have run out of Triphasil, and its users must switch brands or spend almost twice as much to buy the cycle pack sold by drugstores, where supplies are plentiful.
Planned Parenthood clinics are providing prescriptions for patients who want to continue with Triphasil.
Wyeth-Ayerst has offered its Nordette oral contraceptive to the clinics at the same cost as Triphasil, but making the decision to switch pills could be complicated. Nordette and Triphasil don't work the same way, and a woman might experience some side effects from trying the new product.
Triphasil, as its name suggests, delivers three different levels of hormones depending on the phase of a woman's menstrual cycle. Nordette delivers a constant level of hormones. The only other product like Triphasil is Tri-Levlen, made by Berlex Laboratories, according to pharmacists.
Wyeth-Ayerst has increased the production of Nordette to accommodate the Triphasil customers, said spokeswoman Audrey Ashby.
Ashby also said that the drug company regrets inconveniencing its customers, but that its plant in Great Valley, Pa., needed expensive updating to meet environmental regulations, and the company decided to move most of the operation instead of making the changes.
Some production went to other plants in the United States when the clinic pack operation was sent offshore. The company still makes penicillin at Great Valley, she said.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 linesby CNB