Groups that oppose abortion rights are calling on President Bush to withdraw the nomination of acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to permanently head the agency because FDA might approve Barr Laboratories' application for nonprescription sales of its emergency contraceptive Plan B for women ages 18 and older, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Bridges, AP/Houston Chronicle, 8/17).
FDA in May 2004 issued a "not approvable" letter in response to an application originally submitted by pharmaceutical company Women's Capital for nonprescription sales of Plan B, which can prevent pregnancy if taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse. Barr purchased Women's Capital during consideration of the application. FDA in the "not approvable" letter cited inadequate data on its use among girls younger than age 16, and Barr subsequently submitted a revised application to make the drug available only to girls and women ages 16 and older. Former FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford in August 2005 opened a 60-day public comment period on the application, saying that science supported approval of nonprescription Plan B access for women and girls ages 17 and older but that the application presented FDA "with many difficult and novel policy and regulatory issues," including how to enforce an age restriction. In a July 31 letter to Barr subsidiary Duramed Research, von Eschenbach wrote that 18 is the "appropriate age" to allow women to buy Plan B without a prescription and asked Barr to raise the age restriction in its application from 16 to 18. The letter also requested that Barr meet with FDA within seven days, make unspecified changes to the packaging for Plan B and provide a thorough description of the company's plan to enforce the age restriction. The letter says, "If after our discussions we conclude (your) program isn't sufficiently rigorous, ... Plan B will remain [prescription]-only for women of all ages." The company and FDA officials this month met in Washington, D.C., to discuss the application. Barr on Aug. 10 announced that it will amend the age restriction in its application but that it cannot be accountable for pharmacies that do not abide by the restrictions (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/16).