Is Cerazette the minipill of choice?

Abstract

Around 5% of women aged 16-49 years in Great Britain use a progestogen-only pill (POP; 'minipill') as contraception.1 These pills are used as alternatives to combined oral contraceptives (COCs), compared to which they are less reliable at preventing pregnancy: the estimated contraceptive failure rate of POPs is 0.5 pregnancies per 100 woman-years when used consistently and correctly, compared with 0.1 per 100 woman-years for COCs.2 Cerazette (Organon), a new POP, is being promoted by the company as "the first oestrogen free pill to consistently inhibit ovulation", as having "the efficacy of a combined pill, with the reassurance of an oestrogen free pill" and offering "reliable contraception for women of any reproductive age". Here, we consider whether Cerazette offers advantages over established POPs.