ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701200099
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
A MIX-UP BETWEEN real and dummy pills has prompted Bristol-Myers Squibb to recall one lot of Ovcon 35 pills.
Bristol-Myers Squibb recalled 150,000 packages of the birth control pill Ovcon 35 on Friday because of a packaging mix-up that the government says could put certain women at significant risk of pregnancy.
After the Food and Drug Administration analyzed the recall Friday, it concluded women who don't notice the mix-up would be left without adequate protection.
``They're at significantly higher risk of pregnancy,'' said FDA contraceptive chief Lisa Rarick.
Only Ovcon 35's 28-day formula is involved in the recall.
The Ovcon 35 comes in a blister-pack with four rows of seven tablets. The rows represent weeks, and the tablets are to be taken in order. The first three rows of peach-colored tablets contain the birth control, while the last row contains green-colored dummy pills that are taken during menstruation.
About a half-dozen packages have been discovered in one batch that had the dummy pills positioned to be taken during Week 1 instead of Week 4, Bristol-Myers said.
The batch is Lot No. H6J272A. Women who have packs from that lot may return them to their pharmacies for a free replacement.
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