A once-a-month oral contraceptive

Ameya R. Kirtane; Tiffany Hua; Alison Hayward; Ambika Bajpayee; Aniket Wahane; Aaron Lopes; Taylor Bensel; Lihong Ma; Frank Z. Stanczyk; Sierra Brooks; Declan Gwynne; Jacob Wainer; Joy Collins; Siddartha M. Tamang; Robert Langer; Giovanni Traverso

doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aay2602

ReportDrug Delivery

A once-a-month oral contraceptive

Ameya R. Kirtane¹,²,*,
Tiffany Hua¹,²,*,
Alison Hayward¹,²,³,
Ambika Bajpayee⁴,
Aniket Wahane¹,²,
Aaron Lopes¹,²,
Taylor Bensel¹,²,
Lihong Ma⁵,
Frank Z. Stanczyk⁵,
Sierra Brooks¹,
Declan Gwynne¹,²,
Jacob Wainer¹,²,
Joy Collins¹,²,
Siddartha M. Tamang¹,²,
Robert Langer¹,²,⁶,⁷,⁸,† and
Giovanni Traverso ⁸,⁹,†

¹David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
²Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
³Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁴Departments of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁵Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
⁶Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁷Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁸Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
⁹Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

↵†Corresponding author. Email: rlanger{at}mit.edu (R.L.); ctraverso{at}bwh.harvard.edu, cgt20{at}mit.edu (G.T.)

↵* These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Science Translational Medicine 04 Dec 2019:
Vol. 11, Issue 521, eaay2602
DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aay2602

Ameya R. Kirtane

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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ORCID record for Ameya R. Kirtane

Tiffany Hua

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Alison Hayward

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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ORCID record for Alison Hayward

Ambika Bajpayee

Departments of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

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Aniket Wahane

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Aaron Lopes

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Taylor Bensel

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Lihong Ma

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.

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Frank Z. Stanczyk

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.

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Sierra Brooks

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Declan Gwynne

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Jacob Wainer

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Joy Collins

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Siddartha M. Tamang

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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Robert Langer

David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

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For correspondence: rlanger@mit.edu ctraverso@bwh.harvard.edu cgt20@mit.edu

Giovanni Traverso

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

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ORCID record for Giovanni Traverso
For correspondence: rlanger@mit.edu ctraverso@bwh.harvard.edu cgt20@mit.edu

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When less is more

Reducing the frequency at which a patient must take a medication can improve patient adherence. Kirtane et al. developed an ingestible gastric resident dosage form that releases the contraceptive levonorgestrel. Levonorgestrel was detected in the serum of pigs for 1 month after oral administration of a single dose. These preliminary results demonstrate progress that is an easy pill to swallow.

Abstract

Poor patient adherence to oral contraceptives is the predominant cause of failure of these therapies, leading to unplanned pregnancies that can negatively affect female health worldwide. To improve patient adherence, we developed an oral contraceptive that is administered once a month. Here, we describe the design and report in vivo characterization of a levonorgestrel-releasing gastric resident dosage form in pigs.

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A once-a-month oral contraceptive

When less is more

Abstract

Science Translational Medicine

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