OTC status sought for emergency contraceptive. (Plan B).

NEW ORLEANS -- Makers of the prescription emergency contraceptive Plan B have applied to the Food and Drug Administration to obtain over-the-counter status for their product.

If the agency approves the application, U.S. women should be able to obtain emergency contraception without a prescription sometime early next year, said Sharon Camp, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Women's Capital Corporation, the company that manufactures Plan B.

"The prescription barrier is the biggest barrier to women getting timely access to emergency contraception," she said at a news conference held during the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

"It is critical that women be able to walk into a pharmacy when a condom breaks on Friday night and start treatment immediately, when it's going to be most effective, rather than waiting to see a doctor on Monday morning," she said.

Dr. Camp said the efficacy of emergency contraception (BC) declines by 50% for every 12 hours of delay in taking it. Plan B must be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse but is most effective if taken within 24 hours, according to the company

"Providing these drugs over the counter is safe and effective, and we hope that's the future of BC in the United States," said Dr. Vivian Dickerson, president-elect of ACOG and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Irvine. "We believe that it might reduce the abortion ...