The Population Council has announced it has settled litigation regarding control of the abortion pill mifepristone (formerly known as RU 486). A new privately-held company called Advances for Choice has been established to sell the drug and will be publicly identified as the U.S. distributor of mifepristone. Jack Van Hulst, president and chief executive of Advances for Choice said that the company had adequate funding to bring the drug to market and that the new partnership should enable the drug to be available to doctors by the end of the year. In September, the Food and Drug Administration found the drug “approvable” but requested more information about its manufacturing and labeling, materials which will be submitted to the FDA by July, Hulst said.
Joseph Pike, former fundraiser for the marketing of the drug, has “sold a substantial portion of his equity” in the project but will play “no present or future role” in its management, according to a Population Council statement. The Washington, DC- based Advances in Health Technology, set up to inform the public about mifepristone, will become part of Advances in Choice in New York.
