FDA Approves Bayer’s Combination Drug Natazia as Oral Contraceptive

The Food and Drug Administration May 5 announced that it has approved Natazia, a combination hormonal tablet for use as an oral contraceptive.

Natazia contains two female hormones, an estrogen (estradiol valerate) and a progestin (dienogest), and is the first four-phasic oral contraceptive marketed in the United States, the agency said. Four-phasic refers to the doses of progestin and estrogen varying at four times throughout each 28-day treatment cycle.

Natazia is manufactured by Wayne, N.J.-based Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.

“Nearly 12 million women in the United States and more than 100 million women worldwide currently use oral contraceptives,” Scott Monroe, director ...