Towards the development of a longer-acting injectable contraceptive: past research and current trends

Abstract

The design of any new injectable product must take into account the limitations of current injectable contraceptives and address concerns that women may have for a longer-acting product. FHI 360 is supporting several research collaborations for proof of concept of various drug delivery approaches for achieving longer-acting product that fits an established target product profile.

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges for long acting injectable therapies: Insights for applications in HIV therapy

“…Various microsphere morphologies have been employed to optimise drug release including hollow polymer particles and solid matrices to either encapsulate the drug or evenly distribute the API throughout the spherical particle [63]. The first microsphere-containing formulation was approved by the FDA in 1989 for palliative treatment of prostate cancer patients [41].…”

Biodegradable Polymeric Biomaterials in Different Forms for Long-acting Contraception and Drug Delivery to the Eye and Brain

“…In substantial part, this difference reflects challenges in adherence to the preventive regimen and low rates for long-term continuation. Additionally, presently available long-acting contraceptives do not address women's needs or specifications which may be due to either low compliance, poor accessibility or high cost [31][32][33][34]. Therefore, there is still an unmet need for injectable contraceptives which can provide contraception for five months and up to one year after a single injection so that better adherence and continuation rates can be achieved [31,34].…”

“…Additionally, presently available long-acting contraceptives do not address women's needs or specifications which may be due to either low compliance, poor accessibility or high cost [31][32][33][34]. Therefore, there is still an unmet need for injectable contraceptives which can provide contraception for five months and up to one year after a single injection so that better adherence and continuation rates can be achieved [31,34]. Including this new alternative into the current contraceptive choices will offer great flexibility, expand contraceptive prevalence, and decrease the burden of patient load on small clinical facilities and community-based programs [31].…”

“…The ISD formulation contains the drug LNG, biodegradable polyesters, and a vehicle for injection. LNG is a synthetic levorotatory hormone that is widely used as a contraceptive to prevent unwanted pregnancy in females [212][213][214][215][216], also used as an API for the development of long-acting contraceptives Sinoimplant ® and Jadelle [34,217]. It has very limited solubility in water (2.05 mg•L -1 ) which offers to ensure prolonged release.…”

“…The currently available injectable contraceptives can provide contraception for 1-3 months, thus requiring women to return to their health provider four to 12 times a year, which could be challenging in resource-limited settings of developing nations and may cause discontinuation and prolonged return to fertility due to users' difficulty in complying with the multiple-injection schedule. Despite their effectiveness, presently available LARCs do not address women's needs or specifications which may be due to either poor accessibility or high cost [31][32][33][34]. Hence there is a necessity for developing affordable sustained release injectable LARCs that can provide effective contraception for five months or longer after a single shot.…”