Advances in drug-releasing vaginal rings

In recent years, there have been significant advances in the development of vaginal rings for administration of drugs aimed at improving women’s sexual and reproductive health, including the approval of two new products (DapiRing® and Annovera®). Much of the progress and innovation has been driven by efforts to develop new ring products for contraception, HIV prevention, and treatment/prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including multipurpose prevention technologies targeting multiple clinical indication. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of the most recent advances in vaginal ring technology for drug delivery applications, focusing primarily on original research articles published within the past ten years. Initial sections of the review article are structured around the application of ring technologies to specific clinical indications, while later sections address next-generation devices, advances in ring testing methods, key challenges, and future opportunities and perspectives. This article will provide a useful reference source to academic, industrial and clinical researchers working in this field.