ADVANCES IN DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY OF DEVICES MANUFACTURED FOR DRUG DELIVERY APPLICATIONS - Medical Device Manufacturing - page 29

7. D EVICES U SED IN V AGINAL D RUG D ELIVERY
Vaginal drug delivery is mainly used for treatment of local diseases in the
vagina, however, it has been also suggested for systemic delivery. The most
common vaginal devices are the vaginal inserts, which work by releasing
active ingredient over a period of time within female sexual organs. An
example of these devices is the Progestasert which is a progesterone-
containing device inserted into the uterus by medical care professional to
release progesterone over a year and hence act as a contraceptive over this
period of time. Another example is Estring ® (Pfizer, USA) inserts which are
silicone-made vaginal ring inserts that contain oestrogen to treat
postmenopausal urogenital symptoms (e.g. dryness and burning) over a period
of three months (Eriksen, 1999; Alexander et al., 2004). Some vaginal rings
that are commercialized for use in the United States are shown in Figure 20.
(Source: Alexander et al., 2004).
Figure 20. Vaginal rings that are available in the market of the United States. (A)
Estring, Pfizer (active ingredient is estradiol). (B) Femring, Warner Chilcott (active
ingredient is estradiol acetate). (C) NuvaRing, Organon (active ingredient is
etonogestrel / ethinyl estradiol).