Pfizer and Aid Groups Team Up on Depo-Provera Contraceptive for Developing World
Friday, November 14, 2014
Depo-Provera, an injectable contraceptive given once every three months, is already a popular choice of women in developing countries, who value the convenience and discretion of not having to take a daily birth control pill.
But the injections are out of reach for many more women because they live in rural areas that are too far from a health clinic to make the treatments practical.
Now, a major collaboration between Pfizer, the drug’s manufacturer, and several global aid groups is aiming to change that by providing financing to make a new version of the drug — redesigned with developing countries in mind — available in 69 nations throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
The new product, called the Sayana Press, is a single-use syringe designed to be portable and easy to use.
Depo-Provera is typically injected into the muscle by health care workers who must first draw the drug into a syringe from a glass vial. The new product has been reformulated into a lower dose and uses an existing device, called a Uniject system, that looks like a plastic bubble with a short needle attached. It is injected under the skin by squeezing the bubble and can be administered with minimal training.
Source: The New York Times (link opens in a new window)
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