Pharma company secures US$4m to develop ‘best-in-class’ injectable contraceptive

The French pharmaceutical company MedinCell has received an additional US$4m payment to develop an injectable bioresorbable contraceptive.

The payment received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is intended to finance the next steps of MedinCell’s programme mdc-WWM in readiness to initiate the first clinical trial.

Based on MedinCell’s technology, mdc-WWM could be the first contraceptive product to combine progestin molecule, six-month duration, subcutaneous and self-injectable product, full bio-resorption and affordability.

The US$4m payment intended to finance the upcoming technical and regulatory activities is part of two successive grants representing up to US$ 22,5m awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the French company to finance the formulation, the preclinical activities and a clinical Phase 1 study of mdc-WWM.

Helen Martin, head of alliances at MedinCell said: “Yearly, around 111 million women fall pregnant unintentionally leading to 35 million unsafe abortions and 299,000 maternal deaths in low-and middle-income countries, according to the research and policy NGO Guttmacher Institute.

“Supported by our collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, our mission is to facilitate full access to an affordable and sustainable contraceptive solution for women across the world.

Favorable results of preclinical studies have confirmed the potential of the investigational product. We now prepare the initiation of the first clinical study, which will be performed in the US.”

Unlike long-acting reversible contraceptives such as implants and intrauterine devices, no surgical or specialist intervention will be necessary with MedinCell’s product.

The developers say that after a subcutaneous injection, a deposit is formed, acting as a virtual pump for up to six months which then disappears completely.

Studies have shown that the risk of contraceptive failure in women receiving oral contraceptive or other methods is 17 to 20 times higher than using a long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC), mainly because of the lack of compliance.

Christophe Douat, CEO at MedinCell said: “We are committed to improving health outcomes for people in both developed and low- and middle-income countries through affordable innovative therapeutic options.

“This programme originally initiated by MedinCell and now supported by the Gates Foundation illustrates that we can combine commercial and nonprofit goals from early development stage with the right partnership. “