United States Loses Lead in Contraceptive Choices, R&D; Changes in Tort Liability, FDA Review Urged

Abstract

THE UNITED STATES has become the global backwater in contraceptive research and development, experts warn, and unless steps are taken now to change public policy related to contraceptive development, contraceptive choice in the next 10 to 15 years will not differ appreciably from what it is today. "The United States has gone from being the indisputable world leader in contraceptive research and development to become a third-world nation [in this regard]. We are very inept in helping families achieve the size that they want," says David Grimes, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and preventive medicine at University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles. <h3>Industry Abandons Field</h3> Speaking at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, held in Las Vegas, Nev, Grimes noted that during the last three decades, all but one major US pharmaceutical company—Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp, Raritan, NJ (a subsidiary of Johnson