What are Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella, and how are they related?
Yaz and Yasmin are relatively new prescription birth control pills manufactured and marketed by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) originally approved Yasmin in 2001 and then approved its sister birth control pill Yaz in 2006. Ocella is a generic version of Yasmin that received FDA approval in 2008. It is sold by Teva Pharmaceuticals. Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella are combination birth control pills which contain both estrogen and progestin hormones, specifically ethinyl estradiol (estrogen) and drospirenone (progestin). Ethinyl estradiol is used in a variety of different birth control pills, but drospirenone is unique to Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella.
