J&J'S Damage Control Over Birth Control Patch

James Sabatini

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The maker of the widely used Ortho Evra birth control patch, Johnson & Johnson, is trying to prevent negative attention over its dangerous contraceptive by purchasing the rights to domain names like Orthoevrakills.com and Deathbypatch.com.

In late 2005 when the Food and Drug Administration urged that a heightened warning alerting users to the risk of potentially fatal blood clot and stroke be added to the drug's label. In February 2006, a study showed that women using the Ortho Evra birth control patch faced double the risk of blood clots than women who use oral contraceptives. The increased risk is due to the fact that the patch exposes users to higher levels of hormones--60 percent more--than oral medications.

Johnson & Johnson purchased and registered the domain names but is not using them. The move was strictly an attempt to preempt critics of Ortho Evra from attracting negative attention to the dangerous drug.