Latest news

• Pharmaceuticals added to EU's pollutant 'watch list'

  The three chemicals are diclofenac, a commonly-used generic painkiller which is suspected of killing fish, and the hormones 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) and 17 beta-estradiol (E2), which the EC

• EMA starts contraceptive safety probe

  Leading third- and fourth-generation brands include Bayer's Meliane (ethinyl stradiol and gestodene) and Yasmin (ethinylestradiol and drospirenone) products, and have proved popular because they reduce side effects such as ... company's older Diane 35

• Levest COC promises NHS cost savings

  Levest contains levenogesterel 150μg and ethinylestradiol 30μg and costs £2.55 per 63 tablets, or the equivalent of just £0.85 per cycle. ... This makes it 10 per cent cheaper than competitor, Microgynon 30 (ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel),

• New oral contraceptive launched in Europe

  Oral contraceptives available to women up until now have contained the oestrogen component ethinylestradiol.

• Improved attack

  US. Ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel 20? g/90? g tablet. Lybrel (Wyeth Pharmaceuticals). Pregnancy. US.