What the FDA labels say about taking them together
Clarithromycin and drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol
Drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol's FDA label of May 29, 2025 names clarithromycin in its drug interactions section; the clarithromycin label PlainMeds reads does not name drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol. The drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol label: “Concomitant administration of moderate or strong CYP3A4 inhibitors such as azole antifungals, verapamil, macrolides, diltiazem, and grapefruit juice can increase the plasma concentrations of the estrogen or the …”
Check it at the source: the clarithromycin FDA label on DailyMed (effective April 9, 2026, Solaris Pharma Corporation); the drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol FDA label on DailyMed (effective May 29, 2025, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.).
What does the clarithromycin label say about drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol?
Clarithromycin's label (effective April 9, 2026) does not name drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol in these sections. A label lists what its studies and reports found; it is not a complete list.
Source: FDA drug label (Clarithromycin), Solaris Pharma Corporation, effective April 9, 2026 (SPL set 4d42821d-ce7a-7d64-e063-6294a90a0875), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
What does the drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol label say about clarithromycin?
Drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol label, drug interactionsConcomitant administration of moderate or strong CYP3A4 inhibitors such as azole antifungals (e.g., ketoconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, fluconazole), verapamil, macrolides (e.g., clarithromycin, erythromycin), diltiazem, and grapefruit juice can increase the plasma concentrations of the estrogen or the progestin or both.
Drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol label, warnings and precautionsStrong CYP3A4 inhibitors include azole antifungals (e.g. ketoconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole), HIV/HCV protease inhibitors (e.g., indinavir, boceprevir), and clarithromycin [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )].
Source: FDA drug label (Yaz), Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., effective May 29, 2025 (SPL set 065f33e4-b587-4e66-b896-ca9ab7b7c876), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
These are the labels' own sentences. PlainMeds does not grade interactions; a pharmacist or prescriber can say what they mean for one person's medicines.
Both medicines on the record
| Clarithromycin | Drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Bacterial infections, Acid reflux and ulcers | Acne, Birth control |
| Boxed warning | No | Yes |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC) | $0.466 per tablet 500 mg tablet | $0.151 per tablet 3-0.03 mg tablet |
| Shortage now | No current entry | No current entry |
Source: FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026 and the FDA Drug Shortage Database (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What next?
- Check more medicines together
- up to five at once