Scientists develop 5-day limit after-sex pill

After a study of over 1,600 women the researchers found that the pill, ulipristel acetate, worked well after most commonly used after-sex drug levonorgestrel which offers a three-day limit.

The researchers observed that a total of 2.6 per cent of the women in the “levonorgestrel group” became pregnant despite taking the drug, compared with 1.8 per cent in the group that took ulipristel.

In another group of women who were given emergency pills more than three days after sex, no pregnancy was reported from those who had taken ulipristel, the BBC reported.
The side effects were roughly the same in both the drugs. The new drug, however, would not be available ‘over-the-counter’ at present because it did not have the established safety record of levonorgestrel, researchers said.