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Reproductive health advocates have long fought to make oral contraceptives available without a prescription. Their perseverance might finally be paying off: Last week, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously in favor of granting over-the-counter status to one such medicine, Opill. (Leana S. Wen, 5/15)

On Feb. 2, the Food & Drug Administration issued an alert warning about “Made in India” artificial eye drops that were potentially contaminated with rare drug-resistant bacteria suspected to be the cause of 55 adverse events, including three deaths and several other cases of vision loss from eye infections. (Dinesh S. Thakur and Prashant Reddy Thikkavarapu, 5/16)

On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit hears arguments in the challenge to the FDA’s approval of mifepristone for medication abortions. But before the court reaches the controversial merits of that case, it must confirm that the plaintiffs have standing — the legal right to sue about the FDA’s approval process. (David Coale, 5/17)

An already available medicine that can be taken days after a sexual encounter to help prevent infection is obviously a good thing. We definitely want less STIs circulating in the general population. (Dr. Marcos Del Rosario Santiago, 5/17)

The U.S. health care system, unlike health systems in other countries, isn’t set up to bargain with drug companies for lower prices. In fact, until the Biden administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act, even Medicare was specifically prohibited from negotiating over drug prices. As a result, the U.S. market has long been pharma’s cash cow: On average, prescription drugs cost 2.56 times — 2.56 times — as much here as they do in other countries. (Paul Krugman, 5/12)