The Food and Drug Administration has approved a lower-cost new version of the female condom, called the FC2 Female Condom for sale in the U.S. after an advisory panel endorsed the product late last year.

The Chicago-based Female Health Company, which makes the FC2 Female Condom as well as the original female condom, called the FC1 Female Condom which the FDA approved in 1993, is to help prevent pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The FC2 is a condom for females that is made of synthetic rubber instead of polyurethane and is cheaper than the original FC1 female condom. It is a long lubricated sheath anchored at either end by a flexible ring and when inserted, the closed end of the sheath is positioned high in the vaginal canal.

Female condoms like the male versions are sold without a prescription and are for single use. Both the FC1 and FC2 female condoms have the same design and work equally well though the material used is different.

According to Mary Ann Leeper, strategic adviser to the Female Health Co. the FC2 is up to 30 % cheaper than the FC1 due to the material used being less expensive as well as manufacturing costs making it more affordable for individuals as well as public health organizations.

The high cost was the reason the FC1 never really caught on and in the U.S., prices ranged from $1.15 to $2.75 apiece, depending on the means of distribution. A  Female Health Company news release said about 35 million female condoms were distributed worldwide in 2008, compared to about 10 billion male condoms.

Marketing for the female condom was also dubbed inadequate, by most accounts which was another reason that women stuck with better-known contraceptive options. Catherine Christeller, executive director of the Chicago Women’s AIDS Project said the challenge will now be persuading public health departments to distribute the updated female condom more widely and to educate more women about its advantages.

The primary advantage of the female condom is control and it is the only way for sexually active women to take steps on their own initiative to avoid sexually transmitted infections.