Now here’s something you may not know… condoms are over 5000 years old! That’s right, some of the first forms of birth control date back to thousands of years ago, and while the condom has made huge strides in the millennia that have passed since then, the only other option that exists for men in birth control is a vasectomy that may be hard and often costly to reverse. Well, that is until recently! A new scientific breakthrough has allowed scientists in The United States to design a male contraceptive pill that is 99% effective in preventing pregnancies in mice and is awaiting human trials!
there is a significant discrepancy in the contraceptive options available to women as opposed to men, signaling the need for more balance. Getty Images/Peter Dazeley
How does it work?
The male body needs a certain nutrient called retinoic acid, a form of vitamin A, for fertility, sperm formation and sexual drive. The male contraceptive pill, which was first unveiled at the 2022 American Chemical Society’s spring meeting a few days ago, is equipped with certain compounds that block crucial proteins from binding to retinoic acid receptors (RAR), hence allowing for reliable and reversible sterility in male subjects. The compound was administered orally to mice for a 4-week period. Not only did the compound result in a dramatic decrease in the mice’s sperm count, it also had no observable side effects. Better yet, once they stopped administering the drug, the mice regained the ability to give birth in 4-6 weeks!
In order to minimize potential side effects, the chemicals within the drug were designed such that they would specifically bind to RAR. This way, surrounding tissues will not be affected. But more importantly, the chemists and pharmacologists responsible for developing this drug at The University of Minnesota, attribute its success to the fact that it is completely non-hormonal!
The pill targets Vitamin A and has been shown to cause sterility in male mice. Getty Images/Canopy
what makes a non-hormonal pill better?
Up until now, there have been numerous attempts to create a male contraceptive pill, but any compound that has thus far reached the clinical trial stage, exclusively targets the male sex hormone testosterone. Unfortunately, this may be accompanied with a slew of side effects including increased cholesterol levels, weight gain, depression, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This is why current efforts have been targeted towards the non-hormonal pathway to developing a male contraceptive pill.
When can the world expect to see the pill?
Clinical trials are set to begin by the end of 2022. The researchers behind the pill have teamed up with a private company, YourChoice Therapeutics, to achieve this goal. While there is actually no guarantee that the pill will replicate the same results in humans, there is a high level of optimism that the pill can be marketed to the general public in 5 years or under. Jesse Mills, director of the men’s clinic at UCLA jokes “It’s hard to ask a mouse about moodiness or fatigue or other side effects that may manifest in human studies”. Nonetheless, the current pill offers more promise than previous options.
Research associates at The University of Minnesota announce that the pill is ready to begin clinical trials in 2022. CTV News