Estrogen (medication)
Estradiol, estrone, and estriol have all been approved as pharmaceutical drugs and are used medically. Estetrol is currently under development for medical indications, but has not yet been approved in any country. A variety of synthetic estrogen esters, such as estradiol valerate, estradiol cypionate, estradiol acetate, estradiol benzoate, estradiol undecylate, and polyestradiol phosphate, are used clinically. The aforementioned compounds behave as prodrugs to estradiol, and are much longer-lasting in comparison when administered by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection. Esters of estrone and estriol also exist and are or have been used in clinical medicine, for example estrone sulfate (e.g., as estropipate), estriol succinate, and estriol glucuronide (as Emmenin and Progynon).
Segesterone acetate
A combination of SGA and the estrogen estradiol is under development in a transdermal gel formulation for use as a contraceptive in women by the Population Council in conjunction with Antares Pharma in the United States and Europe. As of December 2017, it is in phase III clinical trials for this indication. The medication has the tentative brand name NestraGel. A combination of SGA and the estrogen ethinylestradiol is under development in a vaginal ring formulation for use as a one-year contraceptive by the Population Council in multiple regions including Latin America, Europe, and Australia. It has completed phase III clinical trials and efforts are underway to pursue regulatory approval. It was approved in the United States in August 2018.