Male Birth Control Pill 99% Effective
Researchers in the US recently created a male birth control pill that has shown to be safe and effective on mice and is getting ready for clinical studies in humans sometime this year (2022).
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Birth control choices for men could soon go beyond a vasectomy and condoms.
Researchers in the US recently created a male birth control pill that has shown to be safe and effective on mice and is getting ready for clinical studies in humans sometime this year (2022).
Scientists from the University of Minnesota gave their findings at the American Chemical Society’s conference in San Diego, California, 2022.
The male birth control pill does not aim for testosterone, the male sex hormone. Instead, it cuts the risk of side effects that have kept other drugs out of pharmacies.
This non-hormonal pill targets the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-α) protein. It is one of three nuclear receptors that bind retinoic acid, and it is a form of vitamin A that plays a vital role in the formation of sperm and other things.
The scientists discovered that taking out the RAR-α gene in the male mice was infertile.
Another study used an oral medication that restrains all three nuclear receptors. The researchers from the University of Minnesota wanted to create a drug specific to RAR-α with minimal side effects.
Led by Gunda Georg, Ph.D., the scientists discovered that a compound called YCT529 could prevent RAR-α alone.
The scientists then gave YCT529 to male mice orally for over a month and found it massively reduced their sperm counts and prevented pregnancy up to 99% without having caused any noticeable side effects.
The male mice were fertile again in only a month to six weeks after being taken off YCT529.
The next thing the researchers will investigate is if the pill can work in humans without side effects.
YourChoice Therapeutics is the company that is now the leading candidate drug’s license, which is getting ready to prepare the documentation and application for proper approval from the FDA; it is a prerequisite for clinical studies.
As there is no way to determine if a drug that works well in mice will be as effective and safe in humans, the team is also exploring other compounds that may lead to a male birth control pill.