Sinclair Pharmaceuticals has launched Protectaid vaginal contraceptive sponge (recommended retail price, 4 sponges £9.95). The sponges are impregnated with F-5 gel which contains three different spermicides (nonoxynol-9, sodium cholate and benzalkonium chloride). The company says that the combination of the three agents is effective at killing sperm at low concentrations. This means that only one 20th of the normal concentration of single agent spermicide can be used to achieve the same level of spermicidal impact, which minimises the risk of irritation.