Hormonal Contraception - History

History

In 1921, Ludwig Haberlandt demonstrated a temporary hormonal contraception in a female rabbit by transplanting ovaries from a second, pregnant, animal. By the 1930s, scientists had isolated and determined the structure of the steroid hormones and found that high doses of androgens, oestrogens or progesterone inhibited ovulation. A number of economic, technological, and social obstacles had to be overcome before the development of the first hormonal contraceptive, the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP). In 1957 Enovid, the first COCP, was approved in the United States for the treatment of menstrual disorders. In 1960, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an application that allowed Enovid to be marketed as a contraceptive.

The first progestogen-only contraceptive was introduced in 1969: Depo-Provera, a high-dose progestin injection. Over the next decade and a half, other types of progestogen-only contraceptive were developed: a low-dose progestogen only pill (1973); Progestasert, the first hormonal intrauterine device (1976); and Norplant, the first contraceptive implant (1983).

Combined contraceptives have also been made available in a variety of forms. In the 1960s a few combined injectable contraceptives were introduced, notably Injectable Number 1 in China and Deladroxate in Latin America. A third combined injection, Cyclo-Provera, was reformulated in the 1980s by lowering the dose and renamed Cyclofem (also called Lunelle). Cyclofem and Mesigyna, another formulation developed in the 1980s, were approved by the World Health Organization in 1993. NuvaRing, a contraceptive vaginal ring, was first marketed in 2002. 2002 also saw the launch of Ortho Evra, the first contraceptive patch.

In 1991, ormeloxifene was introduced as a contraceptive in India. While it acts on the hormonal system, this selective estrogen receptor modulator is not a hormone.