Two experimental male birth control pills are just around the corner after a trial showed they worked well in suppressing the sperm production. These pills also received high regards from the men who tried them personally. Both experimental male contraceptive pills appear to effectively lower the testosterone without causing any unacceptable side effects, according to a new study that will be presented Monday at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga.
Researchers claim that these drugs could prove to be a promising alternative to the only male contraceptive options out there which are condoms and vasectomies. Condoms are relatively high in fail rate, and vasectomies are more or less permanent in nature.
The drugs, called DMAU and 11β-MNTDC, are part of a class of drugs called progestogenic androgens. “Male contraception options are currently restricted to vasectomy and condoms, and are thus extremely limited as compared to female options,” exclaimed the lead researcher of the study Tamar Jacobsohn of the Contraceptive Development Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
“Development of an effective, reversible male contraceptive method will improve reproductive options for men and women, have a major impact on public health by decreasing unintended pregnancy, and allow men to have an increasingly active role in family planning,” Tamar Jacobsohn added.
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The study was conducted on 96 healthy male participants in two Phase 1 clinical trials. In each trial, the men were randomly assigned to receive two or four oral pills of active drug or placebo daily for consecutive 28 days. After seven days on the active drug, testosterone levels dropped below normal range in the participants. In men taking the placebo, testosterone levels stayed within the normal range only.
“Men’s positive experiences in clinical trials and high ratings of acceptability for this male pill should serve to excite the public about male birth control being potentially widely available in the coming decades,” Jacobsohn said.
The study also found that 75% of men who took the active drug said they would be willing to use it in the future as well, in comparison with those 46.4% taking a placebo. Men who took the four-pill daily dose had lower levels of testosterone than those taking the two-pill. There was no significant difference between the two active treatment groups in terms of satisfaction with the drug, or willingness to use it in the future or even recommend it to others.
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