Different medications, interchangeable names and a mysterious illness

Makena, once the only available treatment to prevent premature birth, has had its share of controversy. Years of debate over the drug’s effectiveness led to the Food and Drug Administration revoking approval of the product and requiring it to be withdrawn from the market after a confirmatory study failed to replicate the results of a key study.

But while the story of Makena’s rise and fall may be well known, one aspect of the drug’s legacy has remained untold. A widely cited study supporting Makena’s approval mixed up the names of two different molecules: 17P and progesterone. That error, echoed in dozens of articles, led some women to accidentally receive injections of high doses of progesterone to reduce the risk of premature birth – an untested treatment – ​​although it is unclear exactly how many people were affected.

It wasn’t a prominent professor, a doctor or a scientific watchdog who put the pressure on to correct the problem – it was a laboratory manager, Tara Skopelitis, who was determined to leave no stone unturned in solving the puzzle of her disease. daughter.