Contraception News and Research

Latest Contraception News and Research

HHS overturns Bush 'conscience' rule for workers opposing abortion

The Obama administration on Friday rescinded most of a 2008 rule that granted sweeping protections to health care providers who opposed abortion, sterilization and other medical procedures on religious or moral grounds.

20 Feb 2011

Planned Parenthood funding sparks passionate debate on House floor

Almost unnoticed in the wars over the federal budget has been a pitched battle over money for Planned Parenthood, which provides contraception, medical services and abortions at 800 clinics around the country. ... At stake is more than $75 million that Planned Parenthood receives to provide family planning assistance to low-income women, money that its opponents say only frees up funds for abortions (Eckholm, 2/17).

19 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: Budget disappointment; supporting CLASS Act; health law's Medicaid 'mess'

If fiscal sanity is to be restored, Americans need to be told the hard facts — not just that the national debt is out of control and that deficits can't go on and on, but that getting the nation's finances in order will require going everywhere in the budget: domestic programs, defense spending and the big entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that already consume three of every five dollars the government spends.

16 Feb 2011

Girls Decide: Putting girls' sexual and reproductive health at the heart of development

There is a growing global consensus that girls are central to global development. Yet issues relating to girls’ sexuality and their sexual and reproductive rights continue to be largely neglected. Girls Decide, a new initiative from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), highlights the importance of girls’ and young women’s sexual and reproductive lives for both individual and global development, and aims to ensure governments around the world to adopt policies that work for girls.

15 Feb 2011

A ‘Condom Finder’ app launched

The New York City Health Department on Valentine’s Day launched a smart phone application that will help users locate the nearest place in the area giving out free condoms.

14 Feb 2011

FDA approves Hologic's 3-D digital mammography system to diagnose breast cancer

Hologic, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostic products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, today announced the Company received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Selenia Dimensions digital breast tomosynthesis system.

From Hologic, Inc. 14 Feb 2011

Hologic receives FDA approval for hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection

Hologic, a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Hologic's pharmaceutical named Makena, formerly known as Gestiva.

From Hologic, Inc. 4 Feb 2011

Enrollment stopped in one of two global necitumumab Phase III studies in NSCLC

Eli Lilly and Company and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced today that they have stopped enrollment in one of their two global Phase III studies evaluating necitumumab, an investigational anti-cancer agent, as a first-line treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

3 Feb 2011

Easier access to emergency birth control increases sexually-transmitted diseases among teenagers

Offering the morning after pill free over the counter has not reduced the number of teenage pregnancies and may be associated with a rise in sexually-transmitted diseases (STIs), according to a report by experts at The University of Nottingham.

1 Feb 2011

New feature: KHN's selection of thought-provoking magazine articles on health policy issues

Today, we begin this new weekly feature, which will provide a selection of thought-provoking articles from a variety of sources.

29 Jan 2011

Family physicians often uncomfortable in discussing IUDs with patients

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) for contraception are safe and effective, but only a small fraction of women in the United States use them.

13 Jan 2011

Hologic announces acquisition of Interlace Medical

Hologic, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, announced today it has acquired Interlace Medical, Inc. (Interlace), the developer and manufacturer of the MyoSure hysteroscopic tissue removal system (MyoSure). Interlace's operations will be integrated within Hologic's GYN Surgical Products division.

From Hologic, Inc. 7 Jan 2011

Problems reported with Implanon contraceptive implant

Quite a few women have reported accidental and unwanted pregnancies while using Implanon, a hormone implant injected into the arm which is designed to last three years. Although the hormonal implant is described to be 99% effective, is thought to be due to problems with the initial implantation, rather than its efficacy once correctly inserted beneath the skin.

6 Jan 2011

Celgene announces regulatory submissions for blood cancer therapies REVLIMID and ISTODAX

Celgene International Sàrl announced regulatory submissions for its blood cancer therapies REVLIMID (lenalidomide) and ISTODAX (romidepsin).

5 Jan 2011

Pfizer's sublicensing of Tanaproget triggers $1 million upfront payment to Ligand

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that its partner Pfizer, Inc. has granted a sublicense to a multi-national pharmaceutical company for Tanaproget, also known as NSP-989. As a result, Ligand will receive an upfront payment of $1 million from Pfizer. Ligand is entitled to clinical and regulatory milestone payments from Pfizer as Tanaproget advances through the development process, as well as tiered royalties on net sales.

23 Dec 2010

Vatican issues communique to clarify Pope's statement on condoms

"The Vatican on Tuesday issued its most authoritative clarification on Pope Benedict XVI's recent remarks that condoms could sometimes be used for disease prevention, saying that the pope in no way justified their use to prevent pregnancy," the New York Times reports (Donadio, 12/21).

23 Dec 2010

FDA approves Watson's novel oral contraceptive

Watson Pharmaceuticals today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a novel oral contraceptive product – the first and only low dose oral contraceptive to combine 0.8 mg norethindrone and 0.025 mg ethinyl estradiol in chewable form, with four 75 mg ferrous fumarate (iron) placebo tablets. Taken orally, once daily, the product is proven effective in lowering the risk of pregnancy.

22 Dec 2010

Teen birth rate at a seven decade low: Report

Figures reveal that fewer teenagers are giving birth and the numbers are a seventy year low. Reasons are not specified but two decades of public-health initiatives to curb teenage pregnancy may be paying off feel experts. Report co author Brady Hamilton, a statistician at CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics said, “One of the biggest highlights is the continuing decline in teen births -- down to record lows.”

22 Dec 2010

Parents most influence teens' decisions about sex

The teen birth rate in the United States declined 6% in 2009 and is now at a record low, according to new data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Rates declined among older and younger teens and among all racial and ethnic groups. For example, the birth rate among Hispanic teens declined 10% in 2009 and is now at a record low.

22 Dec 2010

Bayer's SAFYRAL oral contraceptive receives FDA approval

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new oral contraceptive (OC), SAFYRAL™ (drospirenone 3 mg/ ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg/ levomefolate calcium 451 mcg tablets and levomefolate calcium 451 mcg tablets). In women who choose an OC for birth control, SAFYRAL raises folate levels for the purpose of reducing the risk of rare neural tube defects (NTDs) in a pregnancy conceived while taking SAFYRAL or shortly after discontinuing it.

17 Dec 2010