In this year, humans will be tested for a non-hormonal birth control pill for men

Scientists have made endless efforts

Scientists have made endless efforts to create the first ever contraceptive for men. This contraceptive that they are trying to create is not going to be a surgery or the currently existing condom. It is a pill, similar to the ones women take.

A non-hormonal pill

In a new research that’s still in its preliminary stage, researchers claim that they have developed a male birth-control pill that is non-hormonal.  They also said that this pill has no side effects.According to the researchers, it was tested on mice and the result was that for four to six weeks, it kept the lab mice sterile without any side effects.

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Human trials of the pill

This is the first time something like this has been developed. The trial of the pill in humans is expected to start by the end of this year. This pill has been developed by the researchers at the University of Minnesota. They say that the non-hormonal pill works by targeting the way  our bodies interact with vitamin A, which is important for fertility in mammals.

A big deal

This pill is not the only male birth control treatment, there are other such treatments that are already in clinical trials. Reaching till here itself is a big deal. Scientists have made endless efforts to finally reach this stage. These options, however, all target testosterone, and hence have side effects that affect sex drive too. It leads to high cholesterol and also lowers sex drive.

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Safer option

However, this development made by the UMN team claims that these concerns do not apply to their pill. Hence, it seems like this will be a safer option compared to the rest. The lead researcher is Md Abdullah Al Noman, who is a graduate student in medicinal chemistry at the university. He explains: “Since men do not have to suffer the consequences of pregnancy, the threshold for side effects from birth control pills is rather low. That’s why we’re trying to develop non-hormonal birth control pills to avoid hormonal side effects.”

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The findings

According to new data that was presented on Wednesday at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society, it was found by the team that the male mice that were dosed  with the pill experienced a drop in sperm count. The drop was sharp and the mice became sterile. Hence, the compound that’s used in the pill, GPHR-529 is estimated and believed to be 99% effective in pregnancy prevention without any side effects.

“Looks promising”

The male mice stopped being sterile after four to six weeks of stopping the pill consumption. Noman said, “This all looks promising so far. But clinical trials are the definitive test for the safety of any drug candidate.” By the later half of the year, they are planning to start the clinical trials in humans. They have licensed GPHR-529 to the company YourChoice Therapeutics to develop it further.  

Other alternatives if this fails

The team is still working on the identification of other candidates just in case things don’t work out as they planned it to. They might improve on the current concept itself even if this development fails. This will let them receive the same results at a lower dose. Then again, NES/T, the male conceptive gel, is around the corner. It lowers sperm level and natural testosterone. In order to reduce side-effects, it also supplements its own testosterone.  It is expected that the trial will be completed in early 2023. However, for the FDA to approve, it will need more trials.