-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email In the palm of your hand, it looks like a glop of hair gel. But this goo could one day revolutionize the reproductive health landscape by being the first male birth control to hit the market. On Sunday, we got one step closer to that reality.
Scientists with the National Institutes of Health’s Contraceptive Development Program announced encouraging results from a phase 2 trial demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the drug. Related The future of birth control is sharing the burden with men — and could be here sooner than you think “The development of a safe, highly effective and reliably reversible contraceptive method for men is an unmet need,” said senior researcher Diana Blithe, Ph.D.
, chief of the Contraceptive Development Program, said in a statement. “While studies have shown that some hormonal agents may be effective for male contraception, the slow onset of spermatogenic suppression is a limitation.” In the trial, more than 220 participants aged 18 to 50-years-old successfully reduced their sperm production with minimal side effects.
The phase 2b trial aimed to reduce sperm production in patients to up to 1 million per milliliter, putting it well below the threshold of 15 million to 200 million deemed necessary for a man to be fertile. The product — which lowers sperm count with a combination of testosterone and a synthetic hormone called Nestorone (segesterone acetate) — succeeded for 86% of trial participant.
