Etonogestrel 68mg implant
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Official medicine documents
Yellow Card
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Drug safety updates
MHRA alerts for Etonogestrel
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Etonogestrel
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Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Etonogestrel
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
8 branded products available
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Etonogestrel on the MHRA register
Nexplanon 68mg implant
Nexplanon 68mg implant
This is the NHS Drug Tariff indicative price used for reimbursement purposes. It may not reflect the price paid by patients or pharmacies.
View full Drug TariffSource: NHS Drug Tariff via NHSBSA. Derived from dm+d VMPP (Virtual Medicinal Product Pack) pricing data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
68 microgram
Not a recommended dose. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. It is a statistical measure used for research and comparison purposes only.
Source: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, distributed via the NHS dm+d supplementary mapping files (NHSBSA). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
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Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 18 · Randomised trials: 9 · 2016–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
K. Moray, H. Chaurasia, O. Sachin, et al.
Reproductive Health, 2021
Oliveira JA, Neves GL, Pinhati MES, et al.
2025
- Levonorgestrel
- Contraceptive Agents, Female
- Drug Implants
PurposeWe aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the outcomes of subdermal implants and levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) in reproductive-aged women.MethodsIn April 2024, we searched Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane trials using the search terms: "etonogestrel", "levonorgestrel" and "randomized controlled trials". We identified 2862 results comparing the LNG-IUS to subdermal implants. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected with no restrictions on language or year of publication.ResultsWe include six RCTs comprising 1503 patients. R Studio was used for statistical analysis. Subdermal implants were associated with a higher risk of dissatisfaction (OR 2.42; 95% CI 1.47-3.98), acne (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.21-4.04), weight gain (OR 4.63; 95% CI 1.96-10.63), and device removal due to side effects (OR 2.02; 95% CI 1.20-3.41) compared to the LNG-IUS group. Subgroup analysis indicated that irregular bleeding may be influenced by gynecological conditions, and the risk of new ovarian cyst detection was lower in healthy women using subdermal implants. Norplant-2 was associated with an increased risk of irregular bleeding and a decreased risk of amenorrhea or infrequent bleeding. The leave-one-out analysis and heterogeneity were well distributed among studies for all evaluated outcomes.ConclusionsReproductive-aged women in use of subdermal implants experienced a higher rate of acne, weight gain, device removal due to side effects and dissatisfaction compared to those in use of LNG-IUS.Trial registrationPROSPERO ID: CRD42024516472.
Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND
Arianna Siconolfi, Martino Azzi, Alessandra Lami, et al.
Contraception and Reproductive Medicine, 2025
Susan Walker, Leica Claydon‐Mueller, Russell Kabir, et al.
Reproductive, Female and Child Health, 2024
Nelsilene Carvalho, Deborah Margatho, Kleber Cursino, et al.
Fertility and sterility, 2018
Nicolas Dugré, Nidhi Choksi, J. Kirkwood
Canadian Family Physician Médecin de famille canadien, 2022
Chappell CA, Lamorde M, Nakalema S, et al.
2024
- HIV Infections
- Alkynes
- Cyclopropanes
Andrade MCR, Yamaguti EMM, de Nadai MN, et al.
2026
- Uterine Hemorrhage
- Desogestrel
- Norethindrone
de Nadai MN, Martins Linhares MB, de Lima Rodrigues Sisdeli JC, et al.
2025
- Desogestrel
- Contraceptive Agents, Female
- Child Development
Valeria Lombardi Fäh, Rosa Catarino, Sarah Castillo, et al.
BMC Research Notes, 2023
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
25 hours
Mechanism
Etonogestrel binds with high affinity to the progesterone receptors in the target organs.
Food interactions
5 warnings
Human targets
1 target
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
82%
Half-life
25 hours
[L5695]
Protein binding
96-99%
[L5695]
…
Volume of distribution
201 L
[A175993]
Metabolism
[L5695]
…
Elimination
[L5695]
Clearance
7.5 L/h
[A175993]
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
[A175990]
Etonogestrel is part of the long-acting contraceptive implants that prevent pregnancy. The implant's effect can remain for 5 years.
[L5698]
Known interactions with other medicines. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1193 interactions
There aren't reports relating etonogestrel with carcinogenesis, mutagenesis or impaired fertility.[FDA label]
There is no evidence that etonogestrel has affinity for estrogen receptors.[A35765]
In clinical trials, etonogestrel was implanted and reported to avoid 100% of pregnancies over a three year period. When the implant was removed, normal periods were reinstalled within 90 days in 91% of the individuals. Fertility was established quickly with 20 reported pregnancies within 3 months of implant removal.[L5695]
The implants of etonogestrel release 40 mcg of etonogestrel daily and they usually provide a continuous contraception effect for 3 years. When the implant is administered, the failure rate is reported to be 0.1%. Some non-contraceptive effects are improved dysmenorrhea.[T502] All data of etonogestrel comes from patients between 80-130% of the body mass.
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[A37184]
When etonogestrel is administered subdermally it is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream and it presents a bioavailability of 82%.[T55] It is reported that the implant releases around 60 mcg per day in the first 3 months and then decreases steady reaching a concentration of 30 mcg at the end of year 2.
[A175993]
[L5695]
[L5695]
The protein bound form of the etonogestrel represents around 96-99% of the administered dose.[T55]
[A175993]
[L5695]
[L5695]
[A175993]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that carry this drug through the body
PMID:19021548
Major calcium and magnesium transporter in plasma, binds approximately 45% of circulating calcium and magnesium in plasma (By similarity).
Potentially has more than two calcium-binding sites and might additionally bind calcium in a non-specific manner (By similarity). The shared binding site between zinc and calcium at residue Asp-273 suggests a crosstalk between zinc and calcium transport in the blood (By similarity). The rank order of affinity is zinc > calcium > magnesium (By similarity).
Binds to the bacterial siderophore enterobactin and inhibits enterobactin-mediated iron uptake of E.coli from ferric transferrin, and may thereby limit the utilization of iron and growth of enteric bacteria such as E.coli .
PMID:6234017
Does not prevent iron uptake by the bacterial siderophore aerobactin PMID:6234017
Regulates the plasma metabolic clearance rate of steroid hormones by controlling their plasma concentration
ATC G03AC08
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Etonogestrel
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
13323
ChemSpider
5292944
BindingDB
50423516
ZINC
ZINC000011680067
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:8910
GenAtlas
PGR
GeneCards
PGR
GenBank Gene Database
X51730
GenBank Protein Database
35652
Guide to Pharmacology
627
UniProt Accession
PRGR_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2637
GenAtlas
CYP3A4
GeneCards
CYP3A4
GenBank Gene Database
M18907
Guide to Pharmacology
1337
UniProt Accession
CP3A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:399
GenAtlas
ALB
GeneCards
ALB
GenBank Gene Database
V00494
GenBank Protein Database
28590
UniProt Accession
ALBU_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10839
GenAtlas
SHBG
GeneCards
SHBG
GenBank Gene Database
X16349
GenBank Protein Database
296673
UniProt Accession
SHBG_HUMAN
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite:
- DrugBank 6.02024Recommended citationKnox C., Wilson M., Klinger C.M., et alDrugBank 6.0: the DrugBank Knowledgebase for 2024Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Jan 552(D1):D1265-D1275
- DrugBank 5.02018Wishart D.S., Feunang Y.D., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank 5.0: a major update to the DrugBank database for 2018Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Nov 846(D1):D1074-D1082
- DrugBank 4.02014Law V., Knox C., Djoumbou Y., et alDrugBank 4.0: shedding new light on drug metabolismNucleic Acids Res. 2014 Jan 142(1):D1091-7
- DrugBank 3.02011Knox C., Law V., Jewison T., et alDrugBank 3.0: a comprehensive resource for 'omics' research on drugsNucleic Acids Res. 2011 Jan39(Database issue):D1035-41
- DrugBank 2.02008Wishart D.S., Knox C., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank: a knowledgebase for drugs, drug actions and drug targets.Nucleic Acids Research2008 Jan36(Database issue):D901-6
- DrugBank 1.02006Wishart D.S., Knox C., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank: a comprehensive resource for in silico drug discovery and exploration.Nucleic Acids Research2006 Jan 134(Database issue):D668-72