Emmenin
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|
| Combination of | |
|---|---|
| Estriol glucuronide | Estrogen |
| Estriol sulfate | Estrogen |
| Estriol sulfate glucuronide | Estrogen |
| Clinical data | |
| Trade names | Emmenin |
| Routes of administration |
Oral |
| Identifiers | |
| ChemSpider |
|
Emmenin was an orally active formulation of estrogen that was developed by James Collip at Ayerst and introduced in Canada in 1930 and the United States in 1934. It was originally an extract obtained from human placentae. At some point, it seems to have been changed changed to an extract of the urine of women who were in late pregnancy, which was equivalent in composition but was less expensive to source, and was essentially the same product as Progynon, a related estrogen developed by Adolf Butenandt at Schering and introduced in Germany. These estrogen products were the first orally active estrogens to be marketed for medical use.
To reduce the costs of manufacturing Emmenin and Progynon, Ayerst and Schering eventually switched to using the urine of pregnant mares (which contains conjugated equine estrogens, primarily estrone sulfate) and called their new products Premarin and Progynon 2, respectively. Premarin was introduced by Ayerst in 1941 and has become not only a very widely used estrogen, but one of the most widely prescribed drugs in North America.
Both Emmenin and Progynon contained a mixture of water-soluble conjugated estrogens, later determined to be mostly estriol glucuronide.Conjugates of estriol like estriol glucuronide and estriol sulfate constitute more than 90% of the estrogens in the urine of pregnant women. Of these conjugates, 35 to 46% are estriol glucuronide and 15 to 22% are estriol sulfate in late pregnancy; the double conjugate estriol sulfate glucuronide also occurs. Unlike unconjugated estrogens like estradiol and estrone, these estrogens were orally active.
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