In a new study welcomed by The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, researchers found that ulipristal ace
In the study published in Lancet, 1694 women were assigned to either the current three-day emergency contraceptive pill (levonogestrel) or the new pill (ulipristal acetate) and tested for the efficacy of either pill within five days of unprotected sexual intercourse. There were 15 pregnancies in the ulipristal acetate group (1.8%), compared with 22 in the levonogestrel group (2·6%) over the length of the study. In the 203 women who received emergency contraception between three and five days after sexual intercourse, there were three pregnancies, all in the levonogestrel group.
Emergency contraceptive pills work by either preventing the release of the egg from the ovary immediately after sexual intercourse, or by not allowing the egg to attach to the womb. Currently, ulipristal is available only as a prescription drug as it does not yet have the established safety record of levonogestrel. However, this pill extends the window for emergency contraception by 48 hours, which should help many women prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said, “This new type of emergency contraceptive pill is exciting news for those of us working to help women avoid unintended pregnancy. However, accessibility is key to the uptake of any time-sensitive medication and since this pill is not currently available over-the-counter and is significantly more expensive to buy than the traditional ‘morning after pill’, it may be that many women who could benefit from it are not able to access it.”
Written by Snigdha Taduri for Biomed-ME