New pill offers a longer time window than traditional contraception

Researchers in Scotland have found that a new drug, licensed in Europe last year, can provide a contraceptive window of up to five days, compared to the three offered by the traditional emergency pill.

Ulipristal acetate (UA), known as Ellaone, can half the risk of pregnancy when compared with the more commonly used levonorgestrel.

However, the new contraception is not yet available over the counter and costs three times more than the alternative drug.

Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service described the new type of drug as “exciting news”.

She said: “It offers a longer time window for use than the traditional, emergency contraception pill.

“Different hormones are involved to the ones traditionally used in contraception, so it may be that these will prove to have other contraceptive uses in future.

“However, accessibility is key to the uptake of any time-sensitive medication and since this pill is not currently available over-the-counter and is significantly more expensive to buy than the traditional ‘morning-after-pill’, it may be that many women who could benefit from it are not able to access it.”