Japan has for the primary time accepted over-the-counter gross sales of an emergency contraceptive tablet, its producer says, permitting girls within the nation to take the treatment with out prescription.
ASKA Pharmaceutical mentioned wider entry to the tablet would “empower Japanese girls within the space of reproductive well being”. A date for it to go on sale has but to be introduced.
The tablet will probably be labelled as “drugs requiring steerage”, which means girls should take it within the presence of a pharmacist.
The “morning-after” tablet is already obtainable with out prescription in additional than 90 international locations. Japan’s conservative views on abortion are rooted in patriarchy and deeply conventional views on the position of ladies.
ASKA Pharmaceutical mentioned in a press release on Monday that it “has obtained the advertising authorisation as a change to OTC [over-the-counter] use of the emergency contraceptive tablet commercialised below the trademark Norlevo”.
There will probably be no age restrictions on buyers and no requirement for parental consent, the saily newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported.
The corporate mentioned it had filed for regulatory approval in 2024, following prescription-free trial gross sales of the tablet the 12 months earlier than.
Throughout the trial, Norlevo was made available at 145 pharmacies in Japan. Till then, the tablet had solely been provided at clinics or pharmacies with a health care provider’s examination and prescription.
On the time, rights teams criticised the trial, saying it was too small, and known as for restrictions to be lifted. Campaigners have lengthy argued that requiring a prescription deterred youthful girls and rape victims from accessing emergency contraception.
Promoting the drug with out prescription was first mentioned by a well being ministry panel in 2017 – the general public session discovered overwhelming help throughout the nation.
However officers stopped in need of giving it the inexperienced gentle then, saying that making it extra simply obtainable would encourage irresponsible use of the “morning-after” tablet.
Norlevo – and the generic model levonorgestrel – works finest inside 72 hours after unprotected intercourse and has an efficacy price of 80%.
