After decades of research by scientists trying to develop an effective male oral contraceptive, a new birth control pill for men has been found to be 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy in mice, by the American Chemical Society.
This was revealed after the pill was successfully tested in mice without observable side effects.
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The researchers hope to begin testing the contraceptive pill in humans, in the second half of this year.
The medication is hoped at balancing the contraceptive burden between men and women, with fewer options available to men.
The team of scientists, on Wednesday, said the “new non-hormonal male contraceptive pill effectively prevents pregnancy in mice without obvious side-effects.”
Dr Abdullah Al Noman, who presented the work at the meeting, said, “While women can take several pills or use patches or intrauterine devices, men only have access to single-use condoms which are prone to failure and largely irreversible vasectomies.
“Vasectomies are surgical procedures which can potentially be reversed, but are generally considered a permanent form of male sterilisation.
“There are several compounds undergoing clinical trials but they target the male sex hormone testosterone, which could cause weight gain, depression and other side-effects.
“We wanted to develop a non-hormonal male contraceptive to avoid these side effects,” explained Dr Noman, a graduate student in the Gunda Georg laboratory at the University of Minnesota.
Dr Georg, head of the medicinal chemistry department at the university, said, “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.”
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