UPDATE 1-Some newer birth control pills need ban-US group

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By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Some newer birth control pills, which carry twice the risk of dangerous blood clots as older contraceptives, should be banned, an advocacy group said in a petition filed with U.S. regulators on Tuesday.

The pills, which include several made by Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BRL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Akzo Nobel NV (AKZO.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) unit Organon BioSciences, are also no better than some older ones, Public Citizen said in a petition filed with the Food and Drug Administration.

Its Health Research Group estimated that in the year ended last October, more than 7.5 million prescriptions were filled for such pills, which also include's Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Ortho-Cept and Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (WPI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Reclipsen.

The petition also targeted Barr's Mircette, Velivet, Kariva and Apri-28, as well as Organon's Desogen. Generic contraceptives containing desogestrel were also cited. Older oral contraceptives contain estrogen and progestin hormones. But newer ones sold in the United States -- so-called "third generation" -- contain a different type of progestin called desogestrel.

"By banning third-generation oral contraceptives, the FDA will potentially save hundreds of young women a year from developing venous thrombosis and its disabling and sometimes fatal consequences," the group wrote.

FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said the agency had received the petition and would review it carefully.