Nexplanon (Etonogestrel Implant) Drug Information: Description, User Reviews, Drug Side Effects, Interactions

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May 27, 2012

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Birth Control (Types and Options) »

Introduction to birth control types and options

If a woman is sexually active and she is fertile — physically able to become pregnant — she needs to ask herself, "Do I want to become pregnant now?" If her answer is "No," she must use some method of birth control (contraception).

If a woman does not want to get pregnant at this point in her life, does she plan to become pregnant in the future? Soon? Much later? Never? Her answers to these questions can determine the method of birth control that she and her male sexual partner use — now and in the future.

There are a number of different ways to describe birth control. Terms include contraception, pregnancy prevention, fertility control, and family planning. But no matter what the process is called, sexually active people can choose from a plethora of methods to reduce the possibility of their becoming pregnant. Nevertheless, no method of birth control av...

Read the Birth Control (Types and Options) article »

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NEXPLANON®
(etonogestrel implant) Radiopaque Subdermal Use Only

DRUG DESCRIPTION

NEXPLANON is a radiopaque, progestin-only, soft, flexible implant preloaded in a sterile, disposable applicator for subdermal use. The implant is white/off-white, non-biodegradable and 4 cm in length with a diameter of 2 mm (see Figure 18). Each implant consists of an ethylene vinylacetate (EVA) copolymer core, containing 68 mg of the synthetic progestin etonogestrel and barium sulfate (radiopaque ingredient), surrounded by an EVA copolymer skin. Once inserted subdermally, the release rate is 60-70 meg/day in week 5-6 and decreases to approximately 35-45 meg/day at the end of the first year, to approximately 30-40 meg/day at the end of the second year, and then to approximately 25-30 meg/day at the end of the third year. NEXPLANON is a progestin-only contraceptive and does not contain estrogen. NEXPLANON does not contain latex.

Figure 18 (Not to scale)

Etonogestrel [13-Ethyl-17-hydroxy-11-methylene-18,19-dinor-17a-pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one], structurally derived from 19-nortestosterone, is the synthetic biologically active metabolite of the synthetic progestin desogestrel. It has a molecular weight of 324.46 and the following structural formula (Figure 19).

Figure 19