Policy & Regulation
Ferring's Propess Approved in Japan for Treatment for Cervical Ripening
24 January 2020 - - Swiss pharmaceutical company Ferring Pharmaceuticals' Propess (dinoprostone) has been approved by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan for initiation of cervical ripening in patients at term (from 37 completed weeks of gestation), the company said.

This is the first time in over 20 years that a pharmacological therapy for cervical ripening has been approved in the country.

Around 10 per cent of births globally require induction of labour, which may be required if the health of the mother or baby is at risk.

Cervical ripening is carried out prior to induction to prepare the cervix for birth.

This approval offers women requiring an induction in Japan greater choice of alternatives to mechanical methods of cervical ripening.

The announcement follows a close collaboration between Ferring Pharmaceuticals and a local patient advocacy group to ensure the needs and safety of women in labour are addressed in Japan.

Propess is currently marketed in over 60 countries and was developed in the 1980s in Scotland where it continues to be manufactured. As leaders in Reproductive Medicine and Maternal Health, this approval demonstrates Ferring's continued commitment to helping people around the world to build healthy families.

Propess is a vaginal delivery system containing the active substance dinoprostone 10 mg used for the initiation of cervical ripening in women at term (from 37 completed weeks of gestation). The dinoprostone softens and opens the part of the birth canal known as the cervix, to start the process of labour.

Labour is initiated or induced by obstetricians in situations where it is considered safer, for the mother or the unborn child, to be delivered.

This could be due to pre-eclampsia (sudden, severe rise in blood pressure and kidney impairment), poor growth in the baby, unexplained bleeding in the last phase of pregnancy or a prolonged pregnancy (the most common reason).

The success of induction of labour is related to the condition of the cervix prior to the induction. If during examination of the cervix length, positioning and softening, it is deemed unfavourable, then cervical ripening will be initiated.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group committed to helping people around the world build healthy families and live better lives. Headquartered in Saint-Prex, Switzerland, Ferring is in reproductive medicine and maternal health, and in specialty areas within gastroenterology and urology.

Ferring has been developing treatments for mothers and babies for over 50 years and has a portfolio covering treatments from conception to birth.

Founded in 1950, privately-owned Ferring now employs approximately 6,500 people worldwide, has its own operating subsidiaries in nearly 60 countries and markets its products in 110 countries.
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