After decades of use, Squibb, the manufacturer, voluntarily withdrew the Delalutin product in the United States in 1999. Renewed interest in OHPC in the United States was sparked with a large NIH-sponsored study in 2003 that found that OHPC reduced the risk of premature birth in selected at-risk pregnant women. With follow-up data showing no evidence of harmful effects on the offspring, the FDA approved the medication, as sponsored by KV Pharmaceutical as Makena, as an orphan drug in February 2011 to reduce the risk of premature birth in women prior to 37 weeks gestation with a single fetus who had at least one previous premature birth. Society and culture
Generic names
Hydroxyprogesterone caproate is the generic name of OHPC and its INN, USAN, BANM, and JAN, while hydroxyprogesterone hexanoate was its former BANM.OHPC is often mislabeled as and confused with progesterone and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone. It should also not be confused with hydroxyprogesterone acetate, hydroxyprogesterone heptanoate, or medroxyprogesterone acetate. Brand names
OHPC is marketed throughout the world under a variety of brand names including Proluton, Proluton Depot, and Makena (US), among many others. It was also formerly marketed under brand names including Delalutin, Prodrox, and Hylutin among others, but these formulations have since been discontinued. It has been marketed under the brand names Gravibinon and Injectable No. 1 (or Chinese Injectable No. 1) in combination with estradiol valerate and under the brand name Primosiston in combination with estradiol benzoate. Availability
OHPC is marketed in the United States and throughout Europe, Asia, and Central and South America.
It is notably not available in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, or South Africa, and only veterinary formulations are available in Australia. OHPC is also marketed in combination with estradiol valerate as a combined injectable contraceptive in a number of countries including in South America, Mexico, Japan, and China. It has been marketed as an injectable preparation in combination with estradiol benzoate in some countries as well. Price controversy
With the designation of OHPC as an orphan drug by the FDA and approval of Makena in 2011, the price of OHPC in the United States was going to increase from US$15 to US$1,500 for a single dose, or from about US$300 to between US$25,000 and US$30,000 for a typical single month of treatment. This was about a 100-fold increase in cost, with "minimal added clinical benefit", and was a strongly criticized pricing strategy. The FDA subsequently announced that compounding pharmacies could continue to sell OHPC at their usual cost of approximately US$10 to US$20 per dose without fear of legal reprisals. KV Pharmaceutical also opted to reduced its price of Makena to US$690 per dose. OHPC continued to be available at low cost from compounding pharmacies until late 2016, after which time the FDA published new guidance documents prohibiting compounding pharmacies from selling products that are "essentially copies" of commercially available drug products.