The authors feel that several reasons exist for considering contraceptives as a special class of drugs, which therefore require special safety studies. Apart from the usual short and long term studies, particular attention should be paid to the reversibility of the induced infertility, and to its possible consequences for subsequent offspring. A possible risk of damage to the foetus is partially outweighed by the low risk of pregnancy during the treatment periods with oral contraceptives. The procedures used in the Organon laboratories are briefly described. Principles on which we base the choice of dose levels and the duration of the various studies are discussed. The paucity of available data from toxicity studies in animals has prevented the presentation of a summary allowing an appraisal of the predictive value of the current methods in toxicology. Nevertheless, a few examples are given which demonstrate the need for more predictive methods. The present lack of knowledge on side effects in humans after prolonged treatment with oral contraceptives has created a feeling of uneasiness. This in its turn has resulted in some excessive regulatory requirements for very long term animal studies. In our opinion, the predictive value of these studies is extremely low because of the inadequacy of the available animal models.More value can be attached to the monitoring of side effects in humans and efforts in this direction should be increased. The Organon system of monitoring the side effects of its marketed preparations is briefly described. It is not considered feasible to standardize regulatory toxicity requirements for the time being, which should not prevent us from aiming at reasonable, more generally accepted methods of study.
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