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FDA considers dropping Avastin approval, approves five-day emergency contraception pill

The Food and Drug Administration is considering revoking its approval of a last-ditch breast cancer drug over the debate on "medical spending and effectiveness that flared during the battle over health-care reform," The Washington Post reports. "The [FDA] is reviewing the recommendation of influential scientific advisers to revoke authorization of the drug to treat metastatic breast cancer.

17 Aug 2010

Oral contraceptives equally effective for obese women

The first study to compare the effectiveness of the birth control pill in women with marked weight differences has found that the pill works equally well in women with obesity and thinner women. This new finding by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center refutes a long-held conviction among many doctors that the pill may not reliably prevent pregnancy in women who are overweight or obese.

17 Aug 2010

Watson to launch ella emergency contraceptive in fourth-quarter 2010

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it intends to launch ella® (ulipristal acetate), a novel oral emergency contraceptive, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Watson's announcement follows the approval of ella® by the FDA as safe and effective in preventing unintended pregnancy for up to 120 hours – or five days – post-unprotected intercourse (UPI) or contraceptive failure.

16 Aug 2010

FDA's labeling of Ella as 'Emergency Contraceptive' misleading, says FRC

Today the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Ella, a drug that can cause abortions but is misleadingly labeled as a more effective "Emergency Contraceptive."

16 Aug 2010

FDA approves ellaOne for emergency contraception

HRA Pharma announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval for ella(R) (ulipristal acetate) as a prescription-only emergency contraceptive indicated for use within 120 hours (five days) of unprotected intercourse or a known or suspected contraceptive failure. ella is not intended for routine use as a contraceptive.

16 Aug 2010

Mass. docs will soon track patients who abuse prescription drugs; Wis. Catholic Church employees now eligible for birth control

The Boston Globe: "With a few computer keystrokes, Massachusetts physicians will soon be able to identify patients who travel from clinic to clinic in pursuit of potent prescription drugs that feed lethal addictions. State health regulators yesterday unanimously approved the new detection system designed to stop 'doctor shopping' by addicted patients who try to dupe doctors into prescribing narcotics. The practice, specialists said, has fueled a surge in drug-related deaths in Massachusetts" (Smith, 8/12).

13 Aug 2010

Education and screening of pregnant women recommended for prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Featured in the August edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada is a new consensus clinical practice guideline which recommends that screening for alcohol consumption be done periodically for all pregnant women and women of child-bearing age.

13 Aug 2010

Oral sex becomes common activity among young women: Study

University of Alberta researcher Brea Malacad says results from a study on oral sex indicate there is little doubt that oral sex is becoming a more common activity for young women. Study results show the act has become a fundamental part of what Malacad calls the "sexual revolution of the 21st century". And she concludes that researchers, sex educators and marketers of safer-sex paraphernalia need to catch up with the trend.

12 Aug 2010

Agile initiates Phase 3 NEW CHOICE Study of AG200-15 contraceptive patch

Agile Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical development company specializing in women's healthcare products, today announced study initiation and dosing of the first patient in the Company's pivotal, Phase 3 NEW CHOICE Study of AG200-15, Agile's lead contraceptive patch. AG200-15 is designed to effectively deliver a low dose of estrogen in combination with levonorgestrel. The patch is applied once weekly for three weeks followed by a patch-free week.

11 Aug 2010

PregLem announces exclusive in licensing agreement with Merck Serono for Bentamapimod

PregLem, the Swiss specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on women's reproductive medicine, announces a world-wide, exclusive in licensing agreement for Bentamapimod, a novel, orally active, Jun Kinase Inhibitor from Merck Serono for an undisclosed amount. PregLem will develop the compound for the prevention of post-surgical abdominal adhesions and endometriosis in patients with tubal ligation or comparable effective contraception.

11 Aug 2010

Scientific findings reveal combination antibiotic therapy effective for ulcerative colitis

The link between Hormone Replacement Therapy and reduced risk of distal large bowel cancer in women; a promising combination antibiotic therapy for ulcerative colitis patients; and the high-rate of alcoholic liver disease mortality, are among the scientific findings featured in the August issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

6 Aug 2010

Watson Pharmaceuticals second-quarter 2010 net revenue increases 29%

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported net revenue grew 29 percent for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010 to $875.3 million, compared to $677.8 million in the second quarter 2009. On an adjusted cash basis, net income increased 22 percent to $102.8 million or $0.83 per share, compared to $84.2 million or $0.73 per share in the second quarter 2009. GAAP earnings for the second quarter 2010 were $0.57 per share, compared to $0.46 per share in the prior year period.

5 Aug 2010

MOM Project increases access to maternal health care services for internally displaced woman

A community-based maternal health delivery strategy known as the MOM Project dramatically increased access to maternal health care services for internally displaced woman in eastern Burma, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Among the findings, the study showed a ten-fold increase in the proportion of women assisted at delivery by workers skilled in providing emergency obstetric care, including preventing and treating hemorrhage, injectable antibiotics and anticonvulsants, and community-based blood transfusion.

4 Aug 2010

Study shows oral contraceptive use increases risk of breast cancer in African American women

Investigators from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University School of Medicine have reported that African American women who use oral contraceptives have a greater likelihood of developing breast cancer than nonusers. The study results, recently published on-line in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, were based on data from the Black Women's Health Study, a large follow-up study of 59,000 African American women from across the U.S. conducted by investigators at the Slone Epidemiology Center since 1995.

4 Aug 2010

Merck reports strong bottom-line performance in second quarter

Merck & Co., Inc. today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2010. The company reported non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share (EPS) for the second quarter of $0.86, which excludes purchase accounting adjustments, merger-related expenses, restructuring costs and the gain on AstraZeneca's asset option exercise. Second-quarter GAAP EPS was $0.24.

2 Aug 2010

Oral contraceptives, HRT may protect women against formation, rupture of brain aneurysms: Study

Results from a new study suggest that oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy may yield additional benefit of protecting against the formation and rupture of brain aneurysms in women. The findings from this first-of-its-kind study by a neurointerventional expert from Rush University Medical Center were presented at the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery 7th annual meeting.

31 Jul 2010

Study shows estrogen stabilization may protect women from brain aneurysms risk

Results from a retrospective, case-control study presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) 7th Annual Meeting could have significant implications for women at risk of brain aneurysms as data shows that oral contraceptives (OC) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may yield the additional benefit of protecting against the formation and/or rupture of brain aneurysms – balloon-like sacks that form in a weakened artery wall and, upon bursting, can cause severe disability or death.

31 Jul 2010

World Congress on Fertility and Sterility to take place 12-16 September in Munich, Germany

The World Congress on Fertility and Sterility takes place every 3 years. It is the most important international congress in this fast moving field. The 20th congress will take place in Munich, Germany, from 12-16 September, 2010, just a few days before the start of the famous Oktoberfest.

30 Jul 2010

FRC Action, pro-life groups urge FDA to reject approval of Ella

Today FRC Action joined 19 pro-life groups in a letter sent to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg requesting that Ella, a drug under consideration for FDA approval that can cause abortions but is misleadingly labeled as an "emergency contraceptive," not be approved.

29 Jul 2010

Life-saving interventions can save 11 million African women, children over next five years: Countdown report

In the next five years, 11 million African women and children could be saved by creating near-universal availability of key life-saving interventions, according to The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and the Countdown to 2015 Decade Report (2000-2010).

27 Jul 2010

Contraceptive News and Research

FDA considers dropping Avastin approval, approves five-day emergency contraception pill

Oral contraceptives equally effective for obese women

Watson to launch ella emergency contraceptive in fourth-quarter 2010

FDA's labeling of Ella as 'Emergency Contraceptive' misleading, says FRC

FDA approves ellaOne for emergency contraception

Mass. docs will soon track patients who abuse prescription drugs; Wis. Catholic Church employees now eligible for birth control

Education and screening of pregnant women recommended for prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Oral sex becomes common activity among young women: Study

Agile initiates Phase 3 NEW CHOICE Study of AG200-15 contraceptive patch

PregLem announces exclusive in licensing agreement with Merck Serono for Bentamapimod

Scientific findings reveal combination antibiotic therapy effective for ulcerative colitis

Watson Pharmaceuticals second-quarter 2010 net revenue increases 29%

MOM Project increases access to maternal health care services for internally displaced woman

Study shows oral contraceptive use increases risk of breast cancer in African American women

Merck reports strong bottom-line performance in second quarter

Oral contraceptives, HRT may protect women against formation, rupture of brain aneurysms: Study

Study shows estrogen stabilization may protect women from brain aneurysms risk

World Congress on Fertility and Sterility to take place 12-16 September in Munich, Germany

FRC Action, pro-life groups urge FDA to reject approval of Ella

Life-saving interventions can save 11 million African women, children over next five years: Countdown report

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