A health ministry panel on Friday approved the manufacturing and marketing of an oral abortion pill in Japan for the first time, paving the way for its formal approval and sale as early as this spring.
As abortions in the early stages of pregnancies in Japan are currently limited to surgical procedures, the pill "Mefeego," developed by the British pharmaceutical company Linepharma International Ltd., is expected to be a new option that could lighten both physical and mental stress on women.
The pharmaceutical subcommittee at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved the drug at a meeting after gathering public opinion and carefully debating the matter, amid concerns about the emergency response for possible side effects and the price of the pill, ministry officials said.
The medication can be used to terminate pregnancies of up to 63 days, or 9 weeks, of gestation and is made of a combination of mifepristone, which blocks a pregnancy hormone, and misoprostol, which stimulates uterine contractions.
According to a domestic clinical trial consisting of 120 women who opted for an abortion, 93 percent were successful in their terminations within 24 hours of ingestion.
Although 59 percent presented symptoms such as abdominal pain or vomiting, they were mild or moderate. There were four cases of severe symptoms, such as abnormal bleeding and bacterial infection.
The World Health Organization includes the medication on the list of essential drugs for abortion. It is available in 80 countries, according to Linepharma.
There were 126,174 abortion cases in Japan in fiscal 2021, the ministry said.
The meeting was originally scheduled for late March but was postponed after the ministry received an overwhelming 12,000 public comments on the drug approval.
