2008 Woodie Awards
Plan B sales up nationwide
Ben Fornell - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 8/28/07 Section: Metro
- Page 1 of 1
Sales of Plan B, the "morning after pill" used for emergency contraception, are up 50 percent nationwide since it was made available to women without a prescription in August 2006, according to industry predictions.
But local pharmacists and medical personnel say sales in Iowa City have not increased, with one official citing an increase in the drug's cost as a potential factor.
Barr Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures Plan B, said sales for the pill in 2007 are approximately double the $40 million worth sold when the drug required a prescription. At Hy-Vee, 812 S. First Ave., pharmacy manager James Mennen said he feels the over-the-counter availability of Plan B may be more significant in smaller towns.
"If you're in a small town in Iowa, you may not feel comfortable asking your doctor for it," Mennen said. "Now, you can just go into a pharmacy and get it."
Luke Bartlett, the manager of the Walgreens pharmacy, 2214 Muscatine Ave., agreed with Mennen. He sells approximately one of the single-use boxes per week, he said.
But while sales figures are up, Barr Pharmaceuticals tripled the price of the drug when it became more widely available, said Karen Kubby, the executive director of the Emma Goldman Clinic, 227 N. Dubuque St. She said this may be why the total units of Plan B sold have stayed stable at her clinic. Other local pharmacy officials said they couldn't comment on past pricing of the drug.
Barr officials declined to comment about past or present pricing information.
The two-pill package women receive when they buy Plan B is a very large dose of the hormone progestin. Medical experts say that taking the pill should only be used as a last resort, when other forms of birth control have failed or sex has been coerced.
"It provides a second chance to be responsible," Kubby said.
Large doses of hormone-based birth control have been used after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancies since the 1960s, according to Planned Parenthood. The FDA approved the pill for sale over-the-counter to women 18 years and older and to minors with a prescription.
E-mail DI reporter Ben Fornell at:
benjamin-forell@uiowa.edu
But local pharmacists and medical personnel say sales in Iowa City have not increased, with one official citing an increase in the drug's cost as a potential factor.
Barr Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures Plan B, said sales for the pill in 2007 are approximately double the $40 million worth sold when the drug required a prescription. At Hy-Vee, 812 S. First Ave., pharmacy manager James Mennen said he feels the over-the-counter availability of Plan B may be more significant in smaller towns.
"If you're in a small town in Iowa, you may not feel comfortable asking your doctor for it," Mennen said. "Now, you can just go into a pharmacy and get it."
Luke Bartlett, the manager of the Walgreens pharmacy, 2214 Muscatine Ave., agreed with Mennen. He sells approximately one of the single-use boxes per week, he said.
But while sales figures are up, Barr Pharmaceuticals tripled the price of the drug when it became more widely available, said Karen Kubby, the executive director of the Emma Goldman Clinic, 227 N. Dubuque St. She said this may be why the total units of Plan B sold have stayed stable at her clinic. Other local pharmacy officials said they couldn't comment on past pricing of the drug.
Barr officials declined to comment about past or present pricing information.
The two-pill package women receive when they buy Plan B is a very large dose of the hormone progestin. Medical experts say that taking the pill should only be used as a last resort, when other forms of birth control have failed or sex has been coerced.
"It provides a second chance to be responsible," Kubby said.
Large doses of hormone-based birth control have been used after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancies since the 1960s, according to Planned Parenthood. The FDA approved the pill for sale over-the-counter to women 18 years and older and to minors with a prescription.
E-mail DI reporter Ben Fornell at:
benjamin-forell@uiowa.edu
Be the first to comment on this story