Sci. Transl. Med. 11, eaay2602 (2019)

An oral contraceptive that is administered in a gastric-resident dosage form can be taken monthly to increase the ease of patient adherence.

Credit: Nv Phngs Caeng Kml Kul Chay/EyeEm/Getty

The ability to choose to avoid unplanned pregnancies confers numerous health benefits and immeasurable social and economic advantages to those who can become pregnant. Oral contraceptives currently need to be taken daily, and the biggest cause of failure is poor patient adherence.

Ameya Kirtane and colleagues developed an oral contraceptive that is able to provide month-long doses of the active ingredient, levonestrogel, as it becomes lodged in the entrance to the stomach. They tested it in pigs and found that it delivered the active ingredient as would be required for contraceptive purposes, showing promise for future clinical application.