Ferring

For many years, the first-line defense against postpartum hemorrhage, a dangerous complication of childbirth that kills 70,000 women per year, has been an abundant, low-cost drug called oxytocin. Trouble is, the drug doesn’t work well if it hasn’t been kept cold—which can be hard to do in the many parts of the world that lack cold transport and storage or a reliable power supply. In 2010, Swiss pharmaceutical firm Ferring began work on a more resilient alternative: heat-stable carbetocin. A massive clinical trial, funded by Merck for Mothers and conducted by the World Health Organization, showed that carbetocin was comparably effective in preventing PPH after vaginal births. The drug is now on the Essential Medicines List, and Ferring since 2021 has delivered more than 800,000 doses to 15 low- and middle-income countries—many in the midst of humanitarian crises—where the burden of maternal mortality is high. Ferring has committed to providing the drug at a sustainable and affordable price, alongside training to ensure it’s used correctly and safely.