Wera

WERA — norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol
Northstar Rx LLC

WARNING: CARDIOVASCULAR RISK ASSOCIATED WITH SMOKING

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular events from combination oral contraceptive use. This risk increases with age, particularly in women over 35 years of age, and with the number of cigarettes smoked. For this reason, combination oral contraceptives, including WERATM , should not be used by women who are over 35 years of age and smoke.

Patients should be counseled that this product does not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases.

COMBINED ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES

The following product is a combined oral contraceptive containing the progestational compound norethindrone and the estrogenic compound ethinyl estradiol.

Each light peach tablet contains 0.5 mg of norethindrone and 0.035 mg of ethinyl estradiol.

Inactive ingredients include: titanium dioxide, macrogol/PEG 3350 NF, talc, polyvinyl alcohol, iron oxide red, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate and pregelatinized starch. Each white tablet contains only inert ingredients, as follows: Titanium dioxide, polydextrose, hypromellose, triacetin, macrogol/polyethylene glycol, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate and pregelatinized corn starch.

The chemical name for norethindrone is 17-Hydroxy-19-nor-17 -pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one, and for ethinyl estradiol is 19-Nor-17 -pregna-1,3,5(10)-trien-20-yne-3,17-diol. Their structural formulas are as follows:

1
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CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY

Combined Oral Contraceptives

Combined oral contraceptives act by suppression of gonadotropins. Although the primary mechanism of this action is inhibition of ovulation, other alterations include changes in the cervical mucus (which increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus) and the endometrium (which reduce the likelihood of implantation).

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

WERA™ Tablets are indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women who elect to use this product as a method of contraception.

Oral contraceptives are highly effective. Table 1 lists the typical accidental pregnancy rates for users of combined oral contraceptives and other methods of contraception. The efficacy of these contraceptive methods, except sterilization, the IUD, and the NORPLANT® System depends upon the reliability with which they are used. Correct and consistent use of methods can result in lower failure rates.

Table 1
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Emergency Contraceptive Pills: Treatment initiated within 72 hours after unprotected intercourse reduces the risk of pregnancy by at least 75%.9

Lactational Amenorrhea Method: LAM is highly effective, temporary method of contraception.10

Source: Trussell J, Contraceptive efficacy. In Hatcher RA, Trussell J, Stewart F, Cates W, Stewart GK, Kowal D, Guest F, Contraceptive Technology: Seventeenth Revised Edition. New York NY: Irvington Publishers, 1998.

1 Among typical couples who initiate use of a method (not necessarily for the first time), the percentage who experience an accidental pregnancy during the first year if they do not stop use for any other reason.

2 Among couples who initiate use of a method (not necessarily for the first time) and who use it perfectly (both consistently and correctly), the percentage who experience an accidental pregnancy during the first year if they do not stop use for any other reason.

3 Among couples attempting to avoid pregnancy, the percentage who continue to use a method for one year.

4 The percents becoming pregnant in columns (2) and (3) are based on data from populations where contraception is not used and from women who cease using contraception in order to become pregnant. Among such populations, about 89% become pregnant within one year. This estimate was lowered slightly (to 85%) to represent the percent who would become pregnant within one year among women now relying on reversible methods of contraception if they abandoned contraception altogether.

5 Foams, creams, gels, vaginal suppositories, and vaginal film.

6 Cervical mucus (ovulation) method supplemented by calendar in the pre-ovulatory and basal body temperature in the post-ovulatory phases.

7 With spermicidal cream or jelly.

8 Without spermicides.

9 The treatment schedule is one dose within 72 hours after unprotected intercourse, and a second dose 12 hours after the first dose. The Food and Drug Administration has declared the following brands of oral contraceptives to be safe and effective for emergency contraception: Ovral® (1 dose is 2 white pills), Alesse® (1 dose is 5 pink pills), Nordette® or Levlen® (1 dose is 2 light-orange pills), Lo/Ovral® (1 dose is 4 white pills), Triphasil® or Tri-Levlen® (1 dose is 4 yellow pills).

10 However, to maintain effective protection against pregnancy, another method of contraception must be used as soon as menstruation resumes, the frequency or duration of breastfeeds is reduced, bottle feeds are introduced, or the baby reaches six months of age.

WERATM has not been studied for and is not indicated for use in emergency contraception.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

Oral contraceptives should not be used in women who currently have the following conditions:

● Thrombophlebitis or thromboembolic disorders

● A past history of deep vein thrombophlebitis or thromboembolic disorders

● Known thrombophilic conditions

● Cerebral vascular or coronary artery disease (current or history)

● Valvular heart disease with complications

● Persistent blood pressure values of ≥160 mm Hg systolic or ≥100 mg Hg diastolic96

● Diabetes with vascular involvement

● Headaches with focal neurological symptoms

● Major surgery with prolonged immobilization

● Current diagnosis of, or history of, breast cancer, which may be hormone sensitive

● Carcinoma of the endometrium or other known or suspected estrogen-dependent neoplasia

● Undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding

● Cholestatic jaundice of pregnancy or jaundice with prior pill use

● Acute or chronic hepatocellular disease with abnormal liver function

● Hepatic adenomas or carcinomas

● Known or suspected pregnancy

● Hypersensitivity to any component of this product

● Are receiving Hepatitis C drug combinations containing ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir, with or without dasabuvir, due to the potential for ALT elevations (see WARNINGS, Risk of Liver Enzyme Elevations with Concomitant Hepatitis C Treatment).

WARNINGS

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular events from combination oral contraceptive use. This risk increases with age, particularly in women over 35 years of age, and with the number of cigarettes smoked. For this reason, combination oral contraceptives, including WERATM , should not be used by women who are over 35 years of age and smoke.

The use of oral contraceptives is associated with increased risks of several serious conditions including myocardial infarction, thromboembolism, stroke, hepatic neoplasia, and gallbladder disease, although the risk of serious morbidity or mortality is very small in healthy women without underlying risk factors. The risk of morbidity and mortality increases significantly in the presence of other underlying risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemias, obesity and diabetes.


Practitioners prescribing oral contraceptives should be familiar with the following information relating to these risks.

The information contained in this package insert is principally based on studies carried out in patients who used oral contraceptives with higher formulations of estrogens and progestogens than those in common use today. The effect of long-term use of the oral contraceptives with lower formulations of both estrogens and progestogens remains to be determined.

Throughout this labeling, epidemiological studies reported are of two types: retrospective or case control studies and prospective or cohort studies. Case control studies provide a measure of the relative risk of a disease, namely, a ratio of the incidence of a disease among oral contraceptive users to that among nonusers. The relative risk does not provide information on the actual clinical occurrence of a disease. Cohort studies provide a measure of attributable risk, which is the difference in the incidence of disease between oral contraceptive users and nonusers. The attributable risk does provide information about the actual occurrence of a disease in the population (adapted from refs. 2 and 3 with the author’s permission). For further information, the reader is referred to a text on epidemiological methods.

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