Is a Generic Mircette Available?
Mircette® (desogestrel/ethinyl estradiol) is a prescription contraceptive product. It is one of the many
oral contraceptives (
birth control pills) available. Compared to older birth control pills, Mircette contains a relatively low dose of hormones.
Mircette is made by Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a division of Barr Pharmaceuticals. Generic Mircette is available, although it is sold under what looks like another brand-name product (rather than a generic name).
Currently, generic Mircette is sold under the name
Kariva®. Generic names of birth control pills can be very confusing -- the names are long, and many different products have the same generic name, but have different strengths. To avoid confusion, manufacturers of
generic birth control pills give their versions a "brand name." These products are still generics, even though their names make them seem like brand-name products.
Who Makes Generic Mircette?
Kariva is made by Barr Pharmaceuticals, the "parent" company of Duramed Pharmaceuticals (the company that makes brand-name Mircette).
Is Kariva as Good as Mircette?
All generic medications must undergo certain tests to compare them to brand-name medications. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) then looks at these tests to decide if the generics are equivalent to the brand-name medications, and assigns each generic a rating. An "AB" rating means that the FDA has determined that a generic medication is equivalent to a brand-name medication. Kariva has an "AB" rating, meaning it should be equivalent to Mircette.
However, generic medications are allowed to have different inactive ingredients than the brand-name medication. This might include fillers, dyes, or other ingredients that may cause problems for people with
allergies or sensitivities.
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