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For more information about Levest®, please click here for the prescribing information.

Levest® – A lower cost,1–3 bioequivalent alternative to Microgynon® 304,5

  • Levest® is a monophasic combined oral contraceptive (COC) pill which contains 150 mcg levonorgestrel and 30 mcg ethinylestradiol3
  • Levest® contains the same active ingredients and has demonstrated bioequivalence to Microgynon® 30, therefore, following appropriate patient assessment and review, it may be prescribed in place of Microgynon® 303–6
  • Each pack of Levest® contains 3 x blister strips of 21 tablets for 3 cycles of contraceptive cover7
Please refer to the full Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) before prescribing.
Summary of Product Characteristics and Patient Information Leaflet
The links below will take you to the electronic Medicines Compendium (eMC). By clicking the links below you will leave the Morningside Healthcare Contraceptives website and be re-directed to an external site; Morningside Healthcare is not responsible for the content on external websites.

Please click here to access the Summary of Product Characteristics

Please click here to access the Patient Information Leaflet

Risk Minimisation Materials
The links below will take you to the electronic Medicines Compendium (eMC). By clicking the links below you will leave the Morningside Healthcare Contraceptives website and be re-directed to an external site; Morningside Healthcare is not responsible for the content on external websites.

Please click here to access the Prescriber Checklist, Patient Alert Card and Important Information for Women leaflet

Please click here to access a warning letter concerning the thromboembolism risk of combined hormonal contraceptives

Additional Prescriber Resources
Whether your patient is starting the pill for the first time, or you are talking to them about changing from their current brand of contraceptive to Levest®, it can be useful to have information and materials to hand to counsel patients. The following assets can be downloaded/edited at your discretion for use during a consultation:

By clicking the links below you will leave the Morningside Healthcare Contraceptives website and be re-directed to an external site; Morningside Healthcare is not responsible for the content on external websites.

The full NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary for contraceptive prescribing for COC including UK Medical Eligibility Criteria may be found here.

References

  1. UK drug tariff (Accessed April 2024)
  2. NHS dm+d. Actual Medicinal Product (AMP) Microgynon 30 tablets (Bayer PLC). Available at: https://dmd-browser.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/amp/view/5014 (accessed January 2024);
  3. NHS dm+d. Actual Medicinal Product (AMP) Levest 150/30 tablets (Actavis UK Ltd). Available at: https://dmd-browser.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/amp/view/59244 (accessed January 2024);
  4. MHRA. UK PAR Levonorgestrel/Ethinylestradiol 150/30 microgram coated tablets. Available at: https://mhraproductsproduction.blob.core.windows.net/docs/ca50b58c7d0d8c6fe9d2d53ec38d2d1f17ff7e1f (accessed January 2024);
  5. MHRA. UK PAR Femicept 150/30 coated tablets, Levest 150/30 coated tablets (levonorgestrel, ethinylestradiol). Available at: https://www.geneesmiddeleninformatiebank.nl/Pars/h102777.pdf (accessed January 2024);
  6. Bayer PLC. Microgynon 30 tablets. Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/1130/ (accessed January 2024);
  7. NHS dm+d. Actual Medicinal Product Pack (AMPP) Levest 150/30 tablets (Actavis UK Ltd). 63 tablet 3 x 21 tablets. Available at: https://dmd-browser.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ampp/view/72706 (accessed January 2024).

Microgynon® 30 chosen as a comparator as it is the license reference product for Levest®.4,5

Filed Under: hcp, hcp-levest