London: A new type of morning-after pill is more effective than the most widely used drug at preventing pregnancies in women who had unprotected sex and also works longer, for up to five days, a new study says.
The report was published on Friday in the British medical journal, The Lancet.
Levonorgestrel, the most widely used emergency contraceptive pill, is only effective if women take it within three days of having sex. It is sold under various brand names including Levonelle and Plan B. International researchers compared Plan B to the new drug ulipristal acetate, sold as ellaOne in Europe only with a doctor's prescription.
Experts tracked nearly 1,700 women aged 16 to 36 who received emergency contraception within three to five days of having unprotected sex. About half got Plan B while the rest got ellaOne.
In the group that got Plan B, there were 22 pregnancies. In those that got ellaOne, there were 15. The research was paid for by ellaOne's maker, HRA Pharma, which helped design the study.
Health officials, however, warned that this should not give women a false sense of security.
