A team of scientists said Wednesday they had developed a male oral contraceptive that was 99 percent effective in mice and didn't cause observable side effects, with the drug expected to enter human trials by the end of this year.
The findings will be presented at the American Chemical Society's spring meeting and mark a key step towards expanding birth control options and responsibilities for men.
Md Abdullah Al Noman, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, told Agence France-Presse that researchers have been interested in a male birth control pill since the 1960s.
He said that multiple studies showed that men are interested in sharing the responsibility of birth control with their partners, but until now, there have only two effective options: condoms or vasectomies.
Vasectomy reversal surgery can be expensive and not always successful.
The female pill uses hormones to disrupt the menstrual cycle, and historic efforts to develop a male equivalent targeted the male sex hormone testosterone.
The problem with this approach was that it caused side effects such as weight gain, depression, and increased levels of a cholesterol known as low-density lipoprotein, which increases heart disease risks.
Since women face becoming pregnant in the absence of contraception, the risk calculation is different.
Noman is working in the lab of Professor Gunda Georg to develop a non-hormonal drug.
retinoic acid plays an important role in cell growth, sperm formation, and embryo development, as it is converted into different forms inside the body.
Lab experiments show that mice without the gene that creates RAR- alpha are sterile, and that retinoic acid needs to interact with it to perform these functions.
Noman and Georg created a compound that blocks the action of RAR-alpha. They used a computer model to identify the best structure.
If we know what the keyhole looks like, we can make a better key.
Their chemical, known as YCT529, was designed to interact only with the RAR- alpha and not two other related receptors in order to minimize potential side effects.
YCT529 was 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancies in a mating trial when it was given to male mice for four weeks.
The researchers found no apparent adverse impacts, even though mice can report side effects like headaches or mood changes.
After being taken off the drug, the mice were able to sire more pups.
The team, which received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the MaleContraceptive Initiative, is working with a company called YourChoice to start human trials by the third or fourth quarter of 2022.
She said that she was optimistic that this would move forward quickly and that there was a chance that it could be marketed in five years or under.
There is no guarantee that it will work, but I would be surprised if it didn't affect humans as well.
There is a question about whether women will trust men to use contraceptives.
Most women would have faith in their partners, and many men would be open to the medication, according to surveys.
Male contraceptives will add to the method mix, providing new options that allow men and women to contribute in whatever way they deem appropriate to contraceptive use.
Agence France-Presse
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