COLLEGEVILLE, Pa., May 23 (UPI) -- Wyeth said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lybrel, an oral contraceptive that stops a woman's menstrual cycle.
Lybrel, which Wyeth said should be in U.S. pharmacies in July, is taken 365 days a year without a placebo phase, so women taking the drug will cease having their monthly period.
"For those women seeking contraceptive options and who are interested in putting their period on hold, Lybrel may be an appropriate choice," said Ginger Constantine, Wyeth's vice president of women's healthcare in a statement late Tuesday.
Most women taking Lybrel in clinical studies experienced breakthrough bleeding and spotting, particularly during the first six months of starting on the drug. Wyeth has made a post-marketing commitment to conduct a study of thromboembolic events among women on Lybrel compared to those on oral contraceptive containing 20 mcg ethinyl estradiol.
