The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted regulatory approval to a second generation female condom (FC2) after preliminary unanimous approval by a FDA panel late last year. The device is cheaper than existing female condoms, is easier to produce, and uses a soft new material.
Serra Sippel, Executive Director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity praised (see PDF) the decision: “We join women around the world in applauding the FDA’s swift action to approve the FC2 female condom .The HIV pandemic among women requires increased investment in woman-centered prevention options, and FC2 approval is an important step forward in putting the power of prevention in women’s hands.”
Mary Ann Leeper, the Strategic Advisor for Female Health Co., the company that developed both the original female condom and the second generation version said that regulatory approval from the FDA “is an important development in efforts to deliver affordable access to woman-initiated HIV prevention in the United State and around the world,” according to Reuters.
