Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2011:  Pregnancy Research Center polled its physician members to understand physician reaction and mindset towards the recent FDA-Approval and subsequent news stories about Makena, the branded version of 17 alphahydroxyprogesterone caproate (17P), a treatment option for pregnant women at risk for premature delivery.

The survey was completed by 189 ObGyns and 81 Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialists. Almost all of the physicians who responded currently use 17P, the generic, compounded formulation, to help manage patients at risk for preterm birth. Yet, less than half plan to use Makena, the FDA-Approved formulation.

One potential goal of the FDA-Approval is a more consistent, safer formulation (since the manufacturing will be done by one entity, as opposed to compounding pharmacies).  However, prior to FDA-Approval, 77% of ObGyns and 81% of MFMs report that they were not at all concerned about the safety profile of 17P.

Recent news articles report that the price of Makena will be $1500 per injection, which can be $15,000-$20,000 over the prescribed course of therapy.  Only 30% of ObGyns and 21% of MFMs said that they would prescribe Makena at a price of $1500 per injection.