Will the Male Contraceptive Currently Being Developed Offer a Reliable Method of Birth Control

There are currently only two reliable birth control methods available to men. However, researchers painstakingly create new, supposedly efficient forms.

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Effective Birth Control Options

According to the American Chemical Society, men can choose from various birth control options, including vasectomy and male condoms. But condoms are only intended for single use and are prone to malfunction.

Contrarily, a vasectomy, a surgical procedure, is regarded as a long-lasting method of male sterilization. Although vasectomies can occasionally be reversed, the procedure is pricey and not always effective. Therefore, just like women, men need a reliable, long-lasting, but reversible method of birth control.

Why Is There No Male Birth Control Pill?

According to WebMD, many men would welcome the choice of a hormone-based male birth control pill. Depending on who you ask, 83% say they'd use it. But coming up with a safe, reliable, and effective male birth control pill is slow work.

An ideal male pill should be effective, cheap, easy to use, free of serious side effects, easily available, and reversible.

Governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including the World Health Organization and academic medical centers, have primarily supported the development of male contraception.

However, these organizations frequently lack the infrastructure for drug development that pharmaceutical firms have, and a small staff typically manages their programs with support from clinical research organizations. A lack of funding further slows development.

Lack of interest from pharmaceutical companies may also play a role in deterring male contraception development, and there are a number of possible reasons why the drug industry shies away from male birth control. One reason includes weighing the cost of development against uncertainties about the potential market. Other reasons include uncertainties about who would dispense these drugs and unclear regulatory requirements for male contraceptive methods to receive FDA approval. Companies may also be concerned about liability if pregnancy occurs.

Hormonal Method of Birth Control

According to Scientific American, two birth control methods are in the testing stage. These methods include hormonal and nonhormonal treatment.

Hormonal treatments are typically administered orally as a muscle injection or gel applied to the skin. These procedures typically include progestin and testosterone. Two pituitary hormones that regulate the testes, the organs that produce sperm, are suppressed by progestin. Because increasing circulating testosterone levels above a certain level suppresses the same two pituitary hormones, taking testosterone may also help reduce sperm production. The addition of progestin further improves the suppression of sperm production.

A second-stage clinical study that has enrolled more than 400 couples from four different continents is currently recruiting participants for the hormonal contraceptive candidate that is the furthest along in development. The couples found the gel tolerable, and the study's preliminary findings are encouraging. It was funded by the Population Council and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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Nonhormonal Method Birth Control

Drugs targeting sperm-producing organs are commonly used in nonhormonal methods to lower sperm concentration or function. Nonhormonal drugs are effective in animal models, but human clinical trials that will show their safety, tolerability, and effectiveness must first start. A few of these techniques are aimed at early clinical trials.

Reversibly blocking the vas deferens, an organ that transports sperm for ejaculation, is another nonhormonal method. Hydrogels, a type of polymer that holds water, are being tested in studies funded by the Male Contraceptive Initiative and Parsemus Foundation to see if they can prevent sperm from passing through the vas deferens.