MGA was synthesized at Syntex in 1959. It was derived from medroxyprogesterone acetate, which had been synthesized at Syntex in 1957. MGA was the third synthetic derivative of progesterone to be developed for use as a medication, following hydroxyprogesterone caproate in 1954 and medroxyprogesterone acetate in 1957. The medication was introduced for medical use in combination with ethinylestradiol (EE) as an oral contraceptive in 1963 by British Drug Houses in the United Kingdom under the brand name "Volidan" (4 mg MGA and 50 μg EE tablets), and this was followed by "Serial 28" (1 mg MGA and 100 μg EE tablets) and "Volidan 21" (4 mg MGA and 50 μg EE tablets) in 1964 and "Nuvacon" (2 mg MGA and 100 μg EE tablets) in 1967, all by British Drug Houses also in the United Kingdom. It was also marketed under the brand name "Delpregnin" (5 mg MGA and 100 μg mestranol tablets) by 1965, among others. MGA-containing birth control pills were withdrawn after reports in the early 1970s of a high incidence of venous thromboembolism with the preparations.