Product Description.:
Ring , off-white , round round
Femring? (estradiol acetate vaginal ring) is an off-white, soft, flexible ring with a central core containing estradiol acetate.
Femring is made of cured silicone elastomer composed of dimethyl polysiloxane silanol, silica (diatomaceous earth), normal propyl orthosilicate, stannous octoate barium sulfate and estradiol acetate. The rings have the following dimensions: outer diameter 56 mm, cross-sectional diameter 7.6 mm, core diameter 2 mm.
Femring is available in two strengths: Femring 0.05 mg/day has a central core that contains 12.4 mg of estradiol acetate, which releases at a rate equivalent to 0.05 mg of estradiol per day for 3 months. Femring 0.10 mg/day has a central core that contains 24.8 mg of estradiol acetate, which releases at a rate equivalent to 0.10 mg of estradiol per day for 3 months.
INDICATIONS
Femring therapy is indicated in the:
1. Treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms due to menopause.
2. Treatment of moderate to severe vulvar and vaginal atrophy due to menopause.
SIDE EFFECTS
See Boxed Warnings, WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS.
Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.
WARNINGS
See Boxed Warnings
Femring is used only in the vagina, however, the risks associated with oral estrogens should be taken into account.
Cardiovascular disorders
An increased risk of stroke and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has been reported with estrogen-alone therapy. An increased risk of pulmonary embolism, DVT, stroke, and myocardial infarction has been reported with estrogen plus progestin therapy. Should any of these events occur or be suspected, estrogens with or without progestins should be discontinued immediately.
Risk factors for arterial vascular disease (for example, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, tobacco use, hypercholesterolemia and obesity) and/or venous thromboembolism (for example, personal history or family history of VTE, obesity and systemic lupus erythematosus) should be managed appropriately.
Stroke
In the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) estrogen-alone substudy, a statistically significant increased risk of stroke was reported in women 50 to 79 years of age receiving daily conjugated estrogens CE (0.625 mg) compared to women of the same age receiving placebo (45 versus 33 per 10,000 women-years). The increase in risk was demonstrated in year one and persisted. (See Clinical Studies.) Should a stroke occur or be suspected, estrogens should be discontinued immediately.
Sub-group analyses of women 50 to 59 years of age suggest no increased risk of stroke for those women receiving CE (0.625 mg) versus those receiving placebo (18 versus 21 per 10,000 women-years).
In the WHI estrogen plus progestin substudy, a statistically significant increased risk of stroke was reported in all women receiving daily CE (0.625 mg) plus MPA (2.5 mg) compared to placebo (33 versus 25 per 10,000 women-years). The increase in risk was demonstrated after the first year and persisted. (See Clinical Studies.)
Coronary heart disease
In the WHI estrogen-alone substudy, no overall effect on coronary heart disease (CHD) events (defined as nonfatal myocardial infarction [MI], silent MI, or CHD death) was reported in women receiving estrogen-alone compared to placebo. (See Clinical Studies.)
Subgroup analyses of women 50 to 59 years of age suggest a statistically non-significant reduction in CHD events (CE 0.625 mg compared to placebo) in women with less than 10 years since menopause (8 versus 16 per 10,000 women-years).
In the WHI estrogen plus progestin substudy, there was a statistically non-significant increased risk of CHD events in women receiving daily CE (0.625 mg) plus MPA (2.5 mg) compared to women receiving placebo (41 versus 34 per 10,000 women-years). An increase in relative risk was demonstrated in year 1, and a trend toward decreasing relative risk was reported in years 2 through 5.
In postmenopausal women with documented heart disease (n = 2,763, average age 66.7 years), in a controlled clinical trial of secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study HERS), treatment with daily CE (0.625 mg) plus MPA (2.5 mg) demonstrated no cardiovascular benefit. During an average follow-up of 4.1 years, treatment with CE plus MPA did not reduce the overall rate of CHD events in postmenopausal women with established coronary heart disease. There were more CHD events in the CE plus MPA-treated group than in the placebo group in year 1, but not during the subsequent years. Two thousand three hundred and twenty one (2,321) women from the original HERS trial agreed to p