World Health Organisation, WHO, in collaboration with Ferring and MSD for Mothers, has broke new ground in developing drug, carbetocin, capable of saving the lives of thousands of women by preventing excessive bleeding after childbirth, otherwise called postpartum haemorrhage, PPH.

Results from the largest study conducted in prevention of PPH with nearly 30,000 women, in Nigeria and nine other low and lower-middle income countries, by WHO were published on New England Journal of Medicine titled ‘Champion Clinical Trial’, shows heat-stable carbetocin is as effective as oxytocin, the current standard of care, in preventing excessive bleeding following vaginal birth.

The breakthrough which was researched and developed by Ferring as a solution to address unmet needs in women’s health, heat-stable carbetocin was said to remains effective at high temperatures, an answer to the limitation of oxytocin which must be stored and transported at 2 – 8°C.

Speaking on the development, Chief Medical Officer, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Professor Klaus Dugi said it was an important step forwards in PPH prevention, “these results pave the way for heat- stable carbetocin to potentially save the lives of thousands of women, especially in areas where cold-chain transport and storage is not feasible.

“We will now work with the WHO and MSD for mothers to make heat- stable carbetocin available in countries where it is needed most, protecting women and families around the world,” Dugi said.

The clinical study was conducted by the WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research, including the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), using Ferring’s heat-stable carbetocin, and funded by MSD for Mothers.

The Switzerland based pharmaceutical giant will now seek registrations and manufacture affordable heat-stable carbetocin and ensure it is available in the public sector of low- and lower-middle income countries that have a high burden of maternal mortality.