030374 nyt BIRTH CURB DEVICE IS APPROVED BY U.S.

CHICAGO, March 2 (UPI) A new intrauterine contraceptive, described as 99 per cent effective in preventing pregnancy, has won Government approval and will be on the market within weeks, it has been announced here.

The new device, called CU-7 is manufactured by G. D. Searle & Co., inventor of the birth control pill. It consists of a small, flexible piece (if pharmaceutical-grade plastic shaped like the numeral 7. Portions of the stem of the device are covered with copper.

The device continuously, releases tiny particles of copper, producing a contraceptive effect which "approaches the pill in effectiveness," the company said.

"Clinical studies have shown that the CU-7 is 99 per cent effective in preventing pregnancy within a 12-month period and that the efficacy rate is maintained for at least two years," Searle's medical director, Dr. W. Scott Smith, said.

The device was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration after three years of development work that involved more than 10,000 women in the United States.