MedinCell Granted €17M to Develop Cheap Long-Acting Contraception

The French company MedinCell has received a €17.3M ($19M) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to advance its long-acting contraceptive implant to human trials. The grant is a follow-on to a €3.2M endowment from the Gates Foundation in 2017 to fuel early preclinical development of the implant. The additional funds will help MedinCell to advance the contraceptive through preclinical development and into a phase I trial. The cash will be available in installments; MedinCell could receive up to €10.7M of the total within the next year, including an immediate payment of €3.7M. MedinCell’s project with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to make contraception easier for women in developing countries where current options are often costly and not always available. MedinCell’s implant is one of a class of long-acting reversible contraceptives, which prevent pregnancy for months without needing regular pills.