First human trial begins for hormone-free male birth control pill

Researchers in California have launched the first human trial for a hormone-free male birth control pill.

That's right guys, soon it could be just as much your responsibility to remember to take the pill as it women's. Prepare to feel the dread in your stomach whenever you forget!

Admittedly it might be a while before any men experience that feeling, but it looks like we're one step closer now as the company YourChoice Therapeutics, Inc. has launched its human trial.

It comes after studies in mice found that the pill successfully dropped sperm count and was 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, while also proving safe and reversible.

In a press release, YourChoice Therapeutics explained that a male birth control pill has been a 'vision for decades', but existing drug candidates use hormonal agents which suppress testosterone, and which have been linked to serious side effects.

Data cited by the company shows men and women believe contraception is a shared responsibility, though the existing options for men are limited to condoms and vasectomy.

YourChoice Theraputics

The pill being used in this new human trial is hormone-free, and prevents sperm production by blocking access to vitamin A.

The researchers explain this method is a 'well-established pathway first discovered in the 1930s when researchers found that depriving mice, rats, and monkeys of vitamin A caused infertility'.

The newly developed pill comes after two decades of research by its developer Gunda Georg, who is also founding director of the Institutes for Therapeutics Discovery and Development.

In a statement, Georg noted that the last innovation in contraception was the birth control pill for women more than 60 years ago.

"The world is ready for a male contraceptive agent and delivering one that’s hormone-free is simply the right thing to do given what we know about the side effects women have endured for decades from The Pill," Georg continued.

"We consciously chose to inhibit the vitamin A signaling pathway in the testis because nearly 100 years of research has validated this pathway and shows that infertility can be reversed easily."

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Akash Bakshi, co-founder and CEO of YourChoice Therapeutics, added that the hormone-free pill will likely be more attractive to men than the alternative.

"The dearth of options reinforces the centuries-old view that pregnancy prevention is ‘a woman’s responsibility.’ It’s not, and we’re committed to advancing the first hormone-free birth control pill for men that’s effective, convenient, and temporary," Bakshi added.

"We thank our investors and the male volunteers who have stepped forward to be a part of this mission.”

The first phase of the study will look into the safety and tolerability of the pill, among other factors, and is estimated to finish around mid-2024.

However, the first trial is only the beginning for the pill which will require further trials and clinical approval before becoming available.