First nonprescription birth control pill approved in U.S.; Perrigo's Opill to hit shelves in 2024

Perrigo's Opill oral contraceptive has become the first over-the-counter birth control approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Ibis Reproductive Health President Kelly Blanchard tells Yahoo Finance Live what the approval means for contraceptive market.

Video Transcript

- Well, today the Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever over-the-counter birth control pill that can be taken daily. Now consumers will be able to purchase Opill at pharmacies and drugstores without a prescription as a milestone in the fight for contraceptive access.

The US joins over 100 other countries worldwide, where birth control pills can be bought without a prescription. Kelly Blanchard, Ibis Reproductive Health President joins us now for more on this. Good to have you on the show Kelly so talk about the significance of this approval.

KELLY BLANCHARD: This-- it's just an amazing day. It's been a long journey to this moment. We know that in the United States, many people face barriers to accessing contraception under the current prescription requirement.

And being able to access a safe and highly effective birth control pill directly off the shelf will be, we hope, just a transformative advance, and allow people to really make those decisions that they want to make about building their families. Being able to implement what they want-- what they dream for their families, and their own well-being, and their family's well-being.

- And obviously, this is the first in this push, but what about other companies, do we get some sort of reaction from Big Pharma as to how they're feeling about this, and perhaps what this opens up for them as well?

KELLY BLANCHARD: We really hope that this will be the beginning of additional products, additional hormonal methods of contraception becoming available over the counter. We know that there's at least one other birth control pill in the process.

We've seen the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists proactively ask and support the idea that all hormonal methods could be available over the counter so we're excited to see-- this approval today is really historic, the first-ever approval of over-the-counter access to a daily highly safe and effective birth control pill. But we hope this will be just the first step as we see this transformative approach to access take place for other methods as well.

- And how soon do we know about its availability and any sort of pricing?

KELLY BLANCHARD: So according to Perrigo, the company that submitted this application, they hope to have Opill on the shelves early in 2024. And we are waiting-- I know they have plans to announce the pricing in the coming months.

- And in terms of any sort of side effects, or people who shouldn't be taking this, what should people be aware of here?

KELLY BLANCHARD: This pill, Opill, is a progestin-only pill, and it is appropriate for virtually everyone to use. People who have, or have a history of breast cancer, should not use this pill, but otherwise, it is safe and effective, and absolutely appropriate for people of all ages to be able to use.

And I also want to add that, one of the exciting things that our coalition, the Free the Pill Coalition, has been working towards is making sure that this switch is a different kind of switch, and that it really centers the voices and leadership of people who really struggle to access contraception and healthcare in this country.

And that means, due to systemic inequalities, Black folks, Indigenous peoples, Asian-American, and Pacific Islanders, Latinx folks, young people, people working to make financial ends meet, and so we really hope that this is going to transform access for those folks who really face more barriers to access to contraception and that this will help them have, again, a new way to access safe and highly effective methods.

- Because, I think, sometimes people, when they see these decisions, come down, they don't realize the economic impact when you do have more control over your family planning. What could this mean then to have, especially some of these disadvantaged groups who haven't had access to this, or perhaps just through expensive insurance, or perhaps they couldn't afford, what does this mean in terms of economic movement forward for some of these groups?

KELLY BLANCHARD: Well, I think first most directly, we know that even having to get a prescription can be a financial hardship. You have to have a doctor, you might need time off work, you need child care, you need to travel to get to your provider to pick up the medications so over-the-counter access for some folks, can help them overcome that very specific financial and time barrier to accessing contraception.

And then we know, from decades of research, that people who have access to the tools to make decisions about when and how to build their families, that they are able to implement their decisions about increasing their own health, and their family's health and well being, and so access to contraception, and access to reproductive healthcare, more broadly, is so critical for all of our health and well-being.

And this will be, we hope, just another way to transform access, that as you say, really is accessible and makes a difference for folks who are struggling to access contraception right now.

- And do we in terms of any pushback that might affect the rollout of this pill, given that some religious groups, there was some pushback, obviously in the light of post reverses wait, a lot of people wondering, what does this mean now for the future of contraception in this country as well thinking that would also be next here. What message do you think this sends?

KELLY BLANCHARD: Well, we know from our research, and Ibis from other research from KFF, and others, that there is really high levels of support among a whole range of folks for over-the-counter access to contraceptive methods.

And we know that virtually everyone in this country, regardless of their religious affiliation, has experience with and supports access to contraception, and so I think there's just really strong support across the board here. And this has been a long process.

Our coalition has been working for nearly two decades to make the case for this change. And it's just one piece of the broader effort needed to ensure that everybody has access to the full range of reproductive healthcare that they need. This certainly doesn't replace people's need for access to high-quality abortion care, but we hope that it's one piece that enables people at least to better access the contraception that they need and want.

- And we'll certainly continue to track that story. A big thank you there to Kelly Blanchard, President of Ibis Reproductive Health. Thank you so much.

KELLY BLANCHARD: Thank you for having me.