Contraceptive pill for MEN may be on the horizon

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

A contraceptive pill for MEN may be on the horizon after a trial prevented female mice from falling pregnant 99 percent of the time.

The non-hormonal drug offers hope of expanding birth control options.

In experiments, the new pill prevented female mice from falling pregnant. Clinical trials could begin within six months.

Lead author Abdullah Al Noman, a graduate student at Minnesota University, said: "Scientists have been trying for decades to develop an effective male oral contraceptive, but there are still no approved pills on the market."

Most undergoing clinical trials target the male sex hormone testosterone - which can lead to obesity, depression and too much bad cholesterol.

Mr. Noman said: "We wanted to develop a non-hormonal male contraceptive to avoid these side effects."

The pill, presented at an American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego, works by blocking vitamin A - a crucial nutrient in conception.

Women have many choices for birth control, ranging from pills to patches to intrauterine devices.

As a result, they bear most of the burden of preventing pregnancy. Men have just two - condoms or a vasectomy.

The former are single-use only and prone to failure. The latter is surgical sterilization which is expensive to reverse - and not always successful.

Men need an effective, long-lasting contraceptive - similar to the women's pill, say the US team.

They targeted a gene called RAR-α that produces retinoic acid, a form of vitamin A that fuels sperm and embryonic development.

The compound called YCT529 made male lab rodents sterile, without any side effects related proteins were left unharmed.

After four weeks of oral administration, it dramatically reduced sperm counts - and was 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy.

The mice could also father pups again four to six weeks after they stopped receiving it.

Co-author Professor Gunda Georg, who heads the lab, said testing in humans will begin in the third or fourth quarter of 2022.

She added: "Because it can be difficult to predict if a compound that looks good in animal studies will also pan out in human trials, we're currently exploring other compounds, as well."

To identify these next-generation pills, the researchers are modifying YCT529 and trying out new structural versions.

They hope their efforts will finally bring the elusive oral male contraceptive to fruition.

It would help reduce unintended pregnancies and abortions, as well as improving maternal health and decreasing infant mortality.

The female pill has helped millions of women take control of their fertility and reproductive health since it became available in 1961.

Its convenience and non-invasiveness has provided little incentive for pharmaceutical giants to develop a male equivalent.

A recent study that injected men with testosterone and progestogen - similar to hormones found in the female pill - had to be stopped early.

Pregnancy rates for female partners of men receiving the injections fell below that typically seen for women on the pill.

Adverse side effects included acne, mood disorders and raised libido. They proved too severe - despite the desired drop in sperm production.