More than a quarter of pregnancies worldwide are unintended. Between 1995 and
2000, nearly 700,000 women died and many more experienced illness, injury, and
disability as a result of unintended pregnancy. Children born from unplanned conception
are at greater risk of low birth weight, of being abused, and of not receiving
sufficient resources for healthy development. A wider range of contraceptive options
is needed to address the changing needs of the populations of the world across the
reproductive life cycle, but this unmet need has not been a major priority of the
research community and pharmaceutical industry. New Frontiers in Contraceptive
Research: A Blueprint for Action, a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the
National Academies, identifies priority areas for research to develop new contraceptives.
The report highlights new technologies and approaches to biomedical
research, including genomics and proteomics, which hold particular promise for
developing new products. It also identifies impediments to drug development that
must be addressed. Research sponsors, both public and private, will find topics of
interest among the recommendations, which are diverse but interconnected and
important for improving the range of contraceptive products, their efficacy, and
their acceptability.


Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
2 Target Discovery and Validation
3 Product Identification and Development
4 Improving Contraceptive Use and Acceptability
5 Capitalizing on Recent Scientific Advances
Appendix A: Examples of Progress and Impediments in Contraceptive Research and Development
Appendix B: Agendas and Participants in Committee Workshops
Appendix C: Committee Biographies
Glossary
Acronyms