Who's Missing in Contraceptive R&D?

The Contraceptive Technology Innovation (CTI) Exchange’s "Beginning with the End in Mind" series will continue this year with a focus on equity. We often use the phrase “begin with the end in mind” to highlight the importance of keeping the needs and perspectives of potential end users front-and-center as we design, test, evaluate, and introduce new products and services. But who are the “end users” we are considering? Current and future contraceptive users are a diverse group of people that span the globe. Their life experiences, backgrounds, and cultural contexts are vastly different and their motivations for using contraceptives are complex and varied. In contraceptive R&D, have we considered the needs of all those who may ultimately use the methods we are developing? Whose critical voices are we missing? What about transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming, people with disabilities, youth, and people with substance use disorders? Read more here.

Explore a Career in Contraceptive R&D with these Training, Fellowship, & Scholarship Opportunities

It is critical to support and promote future leaders and researchers in contraceptive R&D. Keep your eyes on the CTI Exchange as we continue to highlight opportunities for future innovators, and if you have opportunities that we could promote, please send us a message. Fellowships from the Male Contraceptive Initiative (MCI) and Guttmacher Institute are currently featured. Learn more here.

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What We Are Reading, Listening to and Watching this Month

Here are just a few things on our must-read/listen/watch list:

 ●  Harmonized Product Labeling Webinar Recording and Blog: On March 22, the CTI Exchange, the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, and the Hormonal IUD Access Group co-hosted a webinar about recent efforts led by Impact RH360/Medicines360, WCG Cares, and FHI 360 to develop a strategy for harmonizing labeling for the hormonal IUD, Avibela. You can now access the webinar recording and read the full report and a blog summarizing this work.

●  Word on the Street StoryMap: This interactive tool was developed by CAMI Health, Wits RHI, and FHI 360 to capture and share the voices of young women in sub-Saharan Africa who are disproportionately impacted by HIV, other STIs, and unintended pregnancy. Access the tool here.

●  Male Contraceptive Initiative’s Fellowship Program: MCI offers support for up to two years for domestic and international predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees focusing on projects related to research and development of novel contraceptives that inhibit sperm production or impact sperm quality. Applications are due April 15.

●  Contraceptive effectiveness, pharmacokinetics (PK), and safety of Sayana® Press when injected every four months: a multicenter phase 3 trial: In this article published in the Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine, authors Deese et al. share data showing that both pregnancy and PK results indicate that the injectable contraceptive Sayana Press is a highly effective contraceptive method when administered every 4 months. These findings may inform modification of the dosing schedule, or duration of the grace period for reinjection, or both, to reduce overall drug exposure while maintaining contraceptive efficacy. Read the full article here.

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