Achievements
Since Gynuity was founded in 2003, we have made great strides and remain true to our vision and mission. We are proud of our achievements during our more than 20 years working to strengthen reproductive and maternal health care access across the globe. We share some highlights.
Expanded use of medication abortion pills
Completed seminal clinical research demonstrating that medication abortion pills (mifepristone and misoprostol) are safe, effective and desirable to women, which ultimately paved the way for greater access to care in, for example, Bangladesh, Mexico, Tunisia, the United States, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Translated science into clinical policy
Conducted implementation research and translated findings into professional guidelines later adopted by FIGO, WHO and national Ministries of Health promoting new models of care, such as task sharing for first—and second-trimester medication abortion and for the management of postpartum hemorrhage
Informed drug registration processes
Provided critical clinical data for applications to regulatory agencies around the globe, enabling commercial entities to register and label medicines for reproductive and maternal health uses. For example, we provided data to support Health Canada’s registration of mifepristone and the U.S. FDA’s decision to expand outpatient medical abortion through 70 days gestational age
Conducted seminal research on misoprostol for postpartum hemorrhage
Conceived and implemented large-scale clinical and community-based research demonstrating that misoprostol, a pill that can be used to prevent blood loss at delivery and immediately after delivery, is safe and effective and a reasonable alternative to oxytocin for these purposes
Developed innovative medication abortion telemedicine service delivery model
Created the TelAbortion Project, a U.S. study enabling women in some states to access medication abortion without going to an abortion clinic. The knowledge and experience accumulated over the years has allowed us to become a leading provider of technical expertise in this method of service delivery.
Studied and promoted low-tech non-surgical postabortion care
Filled critical evidence gaps to demonstrate that misoprostol—a simple, widely available pill—can replace surgery for postabortion care (e.g. spontaneous miscarriage, incomplete abortion or postabortion complications)
Advocated for access to essential medicines
Applied for and obtained World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines List (EML) approvals for three misoprostol indications: incomplete abortion, postpartum hemorrhage prevention and postpartum hemorrhage treatment
Evaluated low-tech screening, diagnostic and treatment tools
Developed evidence to understand the role of promising low-tech screening, diagnostic and treatment tools, including at home urine multi-level pregnancy tests for medical abortion follow-up; the Congo Red Dot point-of-care test, developed to screen for pre-eclampsia; and use of uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) for managing uncontrolled PPH
Demonstrated the possibility of simplified care for hypertension in pregnancy
Generated evidence for simpler ways to treat severe hypertension in pregnancy by demonstrating a safe and effective role for oral anti-hypertensive drugs that may allow treatment in settings where IV administration and careful fetal monitoring are not possible
Validated ways to increase contraceptive access after medication abortion
Demonstrated that contraceptive injectables and implants can be “quickstarted” at the initial medication abortion visit, eliminating the need for a return visit and reducing exposure to unwanted pregnancy
Filled evidence gaps about safety of mifepristone
Generated evidence to respond to concerns about the safety of mifepristone medical abortion following a series of fatal clostridia bacterial infections, which showed that presence of clostridia bacteria is rare and transient in the vagina and rectum, and risk of infection is not increased due to medical abortion
Convened and coordinated advocacy actions to protect mifepristone in the U.S.
Established the Mifepristone Coalition bringing together more than 150 organizations and 360 individuals working in concert to increase access to mifepristone medical abortion in the U.S. We heightened awareness of the U.S. FDA’s REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy) and the barriers it creates for access
Assessed and promoted history-based screening for medication abortion
Led the development of a sample protocol for providing medication abortion without any routine facility-based tests either before or after treatment and completed research comparing outcomes among patients who did or did not have screening ultrasound or pelvic examination when medication abortion was offered via direct-to-patient telemedicine and mail
Explored potential new medication abortion regimens
Acting in response to the gap in number and type of safe abortion products, established proof of concept for ulipristal acetate in combination with misoprostol for early pregnancy termination