Esmya (ulipristal acetate) / ASKA Pharma, Gedeon Richter, AbbVie, Perrigo Company - LARVOL DELTA

Effectiveness, safety and acceptability of mifepristone compared with other interventions in reproductive-age women using emergency contraception for the prevention of pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (PubMed, BMJ Sex Reprod Health) - "Mifepristone is an effective emergency contraceptive, potentially more effective than commonly used oral EC methods, with a favourable side effect profile aside from delayed menstruation."

Clinical • Journal • Retrospective data • Review • Long-acting Reversible Contraceptives

Mifepristone versus other interventions for the prevention of pregnancy in reproductive-age women using emergency contraception. (PubMed, Cochrane Database Syst Rev) - "Both mid-dose and low-dose mifepristone are probably more effective than levonorgestrel. Mifepristone is likely more effective than the Yuzpe regimen in preventing pregnancy following unprotected intercourse. Nausea and vomiting are less common with all mifepristone doses than with Yuzpe. A delay in menses is probably the main adverse effect of mifepristone; higher doses of mifepristone seem to lead to increased frequency of delayed menses than lower doses."

Clinical • Journal • Review • Long-acting Reversible Contraceptives

Emergency contraception in Italy: Utilization patterns and ecological correlation with induced abortion rates. (PubMed, Epidemiol Prev) - "extending over-the-counter access to UPA for minors was associated with increased use without reducing hormonal contraceptive use. Changes observed during the COVID-19 pandemic were temporary and followed by a rapid recovery, without altering long-term trends. The modest decline in induced abortion rates is consistent with a pre-existing trend rather than a direct effect of expanded EC availability, suggesting a complementary role of EC within broader reproductive health strategies."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Novel Coronavirus Disease

FIGO statement on emergency contraception. (PubMed, Int J Gynaecol Obstet) - "This FIGO Committee statement provides an evidence-based overview of the current landscape of emergency contraception, including available methods such as the copper-bearing intrauterine device, levonorgestrel, and ulipristal acetate pills and combined oral contraceptives as well as their mechanisms of action, safety, repeated use, and key implementation challenges. The statement also presents practical recommendations to improve equitable access and uptake, including integrating emergency contraception into routine family planning, sexual violence, and sexually transmitted infection care as well as promoting advance provision, strengthening provider education, and supporting advocacy and policy efforts to reduce barriers to access. FIGO calls upon governments, donors, and health professionals to uphold every individual's right to timely access to emergency contraception, affirming this is not only a clinical issue but a matter of reproductive justice."

Journal • Infectious Disease • Long-acting Reversible Contraceptives

Computational Identification of Progesterone Receptor Modulators for Breast Cancer through 3D Pharmacophore Screening and MD Simulation of the ChEMBL Database. (PubMed, Curr Cancer Drug Targets) - "Several potential progesterone receptor modulators with favourable binding and ADME-Tox characteristics were identified. These findings demonstrate the value of computational methods in accelerating early-stage breast cancer drug discovery."

Journal • Breast Cancer • Hormone Receptor Breast Cancer • Oncology • Solid Tumor • PGR

Mammogram Pretreatment With Ulipristal Acetate (clinicaltrials.gov) - P2 | N=26 | Recruiting | Sponsor: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute | Not yet recruiting ➔ Recruiting

Enrollment open

Exploring New Treatment Strategies for Endometriosis-Narrative Review. (PubMed, Int J Mol Sci) - "The pharmacodynamic profile of Dienogest (DNG) is compared with the experience of using the pure PR antagonist Vilaprisan and the mixed PR agonist/antagonist Asoprisnil to treat endometriosis...Additionally, another SPRM, Ulipristal acetate, has been associated with rare but serious cases of liver injury...The preclinical profile of the new mesoprogestin EC313 has been presented, showing a higher PR agonistic/antagonistic quotient than Asoprisnil, with comparatively elevated anti-endometriotic activity...Based on the preclinical data currently available, the next generation of mesoprogestins warrants further investigation for the treatment of endometriosis and related gynaecological disorders. This prompts consideration of whether there is potential to enhance the effectiveness of drug discovery strategies within this particular pharmacological class."

Journal • Review • Endometriosis • Gynecology • Hepatology • Liver Failure • Pain • Solid Tumor • Uterine Leiomyoma • Women's Health • PGR

Mammogram Pretreatment With Ulipristal Acetate (clinicaltrials.gov) - P2 | N=26 | Not yet recruiting | Sponsor: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute | Initiation date: Apr 2026 ➔ Aug 2026

Trial initiation date

Ulipristal acetate for use in medical management of early pregnancy loss: a pilot feasibility study. (PubMed, BMC Pregnancy Childbirth) - P2 | "Mifepristone availability for medical management of early pregnancy loss (EPL) is limited in some settings. While recruitment was challenging, all participants adhered to study protocol and passed their pregnancy without additional intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (ID NCT05216952), registered January 19, 2022, https//clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05216952."

Journal

Enhancing Discretion and Consistency in Emergency Contraception Counselling: Implementation of a Digital Support Tool in Community Pharmacies. (PubMed, Pharmacy (Basel)) - "Ulipristal acetate was dispensed in 71% and levonorgestrel in 26% of consultations...Survey respondents rated the tool as easy to use (97%), discreet (99%), and trustworthy (98%); 85% preferred it over standard paper-based procedures. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and patient acceptance of integrating a digital tool into routine EC services and suggest that such tools may support structured, evidence-based counselling within community pharmacy practice."

Journal

Emergency contraception: an overview. (PubMed, Aust Prescr) - "Oral emergency contraception can be obtained from pharmacies without a prescription, while the copper intrauterine device must be inserted by a trained healthcare provider. For greatest effectiveness after unprotected sexual intercourse, oral levonorgestrel should be taken within 72 hours (3 days), ulipristal acetate should be taken within 120 hours (5 days) or the copper intrauterine device should be inserted within 120 hours."

Journal • Review • Long-acting Reversible Contraceptives

Training providers to improve access to emergency contraception in abortion ban states in the U.S. (PubMed, Reprod Health) - "This replicable training intervention was associated with increased provider counseling and clinic availability of EC. Remaining gaps to reach universal provision of EC methods highlight the need for ongoing initiatives to increase access, including in abortion ban states."

Journal • Long-acting Reversible Contraceptives

Exploiting interspecies interactions in a Corynebacterium-Shewanella co-culture improves succinic acid production. (PubMed, Bioresour Technol) - "Transcriptomic analysis revealed that co-culture induced global metabolic reprogramming in C. glutamicum, including reinforcement of the electron transport system, redistribution of carbon flux toward the reductive TCA pathway, and suppression of succinic acid -consuming pathways. Overall, this study demonstrates an effective co-culture strategy for improving succinic acid production and provides insights into the role of interspecies interactions in metabolic regulation."

Journal • LDHA

A cross-sectional study of family planning medication availability in New York Capital Region pharmacies. (PubMed, Contraception) - "Despite regulatory access to family planning medications, practical access remains unreliable."

Journal • Observational data

Efficacy and Safety of Vilaprisan in the Treatment of Uterine Fibroids: Data from ASTEROID 5, a Phase 3 Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial. (PubMed, J Clin Med) - P3 | "Background/Objectives: Vilaprisan and ulipristal acetate (UPA) have demonstrated efficacy in treating uterine fibroids (UFs). Vilaprisan (total VPR group) demonstrated non-inferiority but not superiority versus UPA in inducing amenorrhea (82.9% [520/627] vs. 74.2% [66/89]; difference: 8.8% [95% confidence interval: -0.78, 18.34]; p = 0.0553), whereas vilaprisan (VPR-3/1 arm) showed superiority versus UPA in reducing total menstrual blood loss (least squares mean total MBL: 44.2 mL vs. 80.3 mL; difference: -36.1 mL; p = 0.0010). Vilaprisan (VPR-3/1 regimen) was superior to UPA in reducing total MBL, and it was non-inferior (total VPR group) to UPA in inducing amenorrhea."

Journal • P3 data • Gynecology • Solid Tumor • Uterine Leiomyoma • Women's Health

Levonorgestrel-piroxicam Versus Ulipristal Acetate for Emergency Contraception (clinicaltrials.gov) - P3 | N=980 | Recruiting | Sponsor: The University of Hong Kong | Not yet recruiting ➔ Recruiting

Enrollment open

Availability of Oral Emergency Contraception in German Community Pharmacies-A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Mystery Caller Study. (PubMed, Health Sci Rep) - "In Germany, the "morning after pill" (oral emergency contraception [EC]), which contains the active ingredients ulipristal acetate (UPA) and levonorgestrel (LNG), can only be dispensed by community pharmacies (CPs)...None of the investigated factors had a significant influence on availability. While oral EC is generally immediately available in Germany, the optimal rate of 100% immediate availability was not reached for UPA preparations, which may hinder access."

Journal

ZrO2@C-MOF-808: A carbonized MOF-Based nanocomposite for sensitive electrochemical detection of ulipristal acetate. (PubMed, Talanta) - "In addition, the environmental sustainability of the developed method was assessed using the Greenness Evaluation Metric for Analytical Methods (GEMAM), confirming its green and resource-efficient analytical profile. These findings highlight the potential of the ZrO2@C-MOF-808/GCE as a cost-effective and reliable platform for UA determination in pharmaceutical quality control and clinical analysis."

Journal

First report on electrochemical sensing of ulipristal acetate in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids using reduced graphene oxide-CuO nanohybrid based sensors. (PubMed, BMC Chem) - "The presented voltammetric procedure has been introduced for sensitive monitoring of ULP residues in biological and pharmaceutical samples. The outcomes were contrasted with the previously reported ULP analytical methods."

Journal

NL62638.029.18: Ulipristal versus surgery for symptomatic uterine fibroids (clinicaltrialsregister.eu) - P4 | N=164 | Recruiting | Sponsor: Amsterdam UMC Stichting | Not yet recruiting ➔ Recruiting

Enrollment open • Gynecology • Solid Tumor • Uterine Leiomyoma • Women's Health

Regulatory discrepancies and patient-safety risks from the continued marketing of withdrawn medicines in Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru (2014-2025). (PubMed, Drug Metab Pers Ther) - "Substantial misalignment persists between international and Andean regulatory decisions. The continued regulatory authorization of withdrawn medicines highlights weaknesses in pharmacovigilance and transparency, underscoring the urgent need for regional harmonization and public disclosure of regulatory actions."

Journal

Emergency contraception (ISGE 2026) - "The recommended options for oral EC are ulipristal acetate 30mg and levonorgestrel 1.5 mg...Mifepristone is also effective for EC, but a registered EC product is only available in a few countries...Knowledge on the mechanisms of action of ECP could help to optimize their use and give realistic expectations on their effectiveness. We have utilized this knowledge in the development of new ECP or flexible on demand options with wider window of action resulting in increased efficacy."

Long-acting Reversible Contraceptives

Bioprospection of Piliostigma thonningii ethanol extract for anti-fibroid activity via molecular docking and in vivo hormonal evaluation in female wistar rats. (PubMed, J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol) - "Among the top-ranked compounds, cyclopropaneoctanal-2-octyl exhibited favourable predicted binding interactions with key catalytic residue for PR (CYS891 and THR894) and ER catalytic residue (HIS524) comparable to the reference ligands ulipristal acetate and estrogen. Drug-likeness and ADMET prediction suggested that this compound possess acceptable pharmacokinectic properties and dynamic stability. These findings indicate that P. thonningii extract exerts anti-fibroid effects in vivo while in silico analysis provide mechanistic hypotheses regarding the potential contribution of the individual compounds to estrogen and progesterone receptor modulation."

Journal • Preclinical • Gynecology • Solid Tumor • Uterine Leiomyoma • Women's Health • ER • PGR

Mammogram Pretreatment With Ulipristal Acetate (clinicaltrials.gov) - P2 | N=26 | Not yet recruiting | Sponsor: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute

New P2 trial

Ulipristal acetate emergency contraception access and dispensing in Alberta, Canada from 2015 to 2023. (PubMed, Contraception) - "Ulipristal acetate use in Alberta, Canada steadily increased since approval, with equitable rural and urban access. First-year uptake appeared to have a lag compared to other new medications, suggesting adoption barriers. Clinician awareness, patient education, and policy support remain essential to ensure equitable access to this highly effective emergency contraception."

Journal