Contraceptive vaginal ring NuvaRing launched in India

The United States-based pharmaceutical company Organon has launched its female contraceptive, called NuvaRing, in India.

NuvaRing, the vaginal ring, has no side-effects, and is a flexible, transparent ring made of inert plastics, the company claims.

It is a once-a-month vaginal ring which offers the same benefits as the contraceptive pill, plus the advantage of not having to be used daily.

NuvaRing, the first vaginal birth control ring in the world, contains hormones that enter the bloodstream directly, and thus inhibit ovulation.

According to Dr Urvashi Jha, director of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, of the Delhi-based Max Healthcare, NuvaRing makes contraception procedure simpler for women.

The ring has to be inserted into the vagina once every week, instead of taking one contraceptive pill each day. This is how it is to be done: Three weeks of insertion, followed by one week of non-insertion interval. This has to be repeated every month for a continued contraceptive effect, Urvashi Jha explains.

The exact positioning of the vaginal ring is not crucial to its functioning.

At the launch of NuvaRing in India, Dr Urvashi Prasad Jha stressed that when a woman uses a contraceptive method that suits her lifestyle, like NuvaRing, she is more likely to be compliant to the regimen, which, in turn, is likely to reduce the risk of unplanned pregnancy. This ease of use further increases its acceptability and usage.

K G Ananthakrishnan, managing director of Organon (India), says that, in India, about 20% of women use contraceptives. NuvaRing, he adds, is good since it does not have any side-effects and does not obstruct any other “routine activity.”

He said the introduction of NuvaRing will increase the contraception options at present available to women in India.

The contraceptive ring, according to Ananthakrishnan, offers the “busy, multi-tasking” Indian women of today “the convenience of a monthly regimen and a self-controlled method” in terms of insertion as well as removal.

The findings of a study conducted in 2007 as well as of a study conducted by market research analysts TNS in 2009 among women in India have shown that one of the main reasons for not using a contraceptive pill or switching from a pill to some other option is the side-effects that regular intake of the pill cause.

According to experts, Indian women may not dislike inserting a contraption in the vagina once a month, and this convenience will result in a higher rate of compliance.

Dr Ignacio Lete, chief of the gynaecological department of Hospital Santiago, Vitoria, Spain, who was present at the launch of NuvaRing, explained that the safety profile of the ring is similar to that of the pills being used now. But, the vaginal ring is basically different from the pill in two ways – one, its way of administration and, two, its frequency of use.

The vagina, according to Dr Lete, is a suitable organ to administer drugs since the organ allows constant hormone levels as has been demonstrated in many scientific studies.