Contraception R&D: Broadening Horizons To Meet A Diversity Of Needs

This snapshot offers insights into European R&D funding from 2018 to 2022 for sexual & reproductive health issues.

Access to modern contraceptives and sexual and reproductive health services is a fundamental human right. It is also critical to advancing health and economic wellbeing. Despite this, comprehensive access to and use of contraceptives remains unrealised, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where approximately one-quarter of women of reproductive age still have an unmet need for modern contraception.

There are many reasons people may not use contraception, including a perception that they do not need it, opposition to its use, and cost barriers. Real or perceived side-effects, health risks, or inconvenience of available methods are, however, amongst the most common reasons cited by women for not using contraception, despite wanting to space or limit pregnancy. This indicates a clear need for new methods that better meet the needs of contraceptive users, including those that are user-controlled, less or non-hormonal, or can be used by men, women, or both.

Contraceptive R&D faces several challenges however, including a perceived low return on investment, regulatory hurdles and litigiousness. As such, the field is under-resourced in comparison to other areas of health and scientific research. Since 2018 Policy Cures Research has been tracking global investment in LMIC-appropriate product R&D for a range of sexual and reproductive health issues – including contraception – as part of the G-FINDER project. Using this data, this report analyses the funding landscape of contraceptive R&D from 2018 to 2021, assessing the scale and distribution of funding, as well as key funders and trends over time.