A dispute between the European company which agreed to manufacture mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486) and the Population Council, the U.S. sponsor of the pill, could delay the pill’s introduction into the U.S. The Population Council commented, “What we want to say is that there’s a dispute [with the manufacturer] and we’re continuing to talk to them, and our commercial partners are very actively looking for other manufacturers.” The Population Council did not know why or whether this would delay the pill’s introduction to the U.S. market.
Mifepristone is a drug which offers women an alternative to surgical abortion. It has been legal and popular in the European community for years, and won conditional U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval only in the fall of 1996.
