Male Birth Control Pill Shows Success In Mice Trials

A new male contraceptive was found to be 99 percent successful in mice, according to a study from the University of Minnesota.

The study, which was led by medicinal chemist Gunda Georg, was revealed at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Georg said that they’re planning to begin human trials for the nonhormonal male contraceptive by late 2022. According to the ACS press release, initial trials concluded “without obvious side effects,” in the mice.

This oral contraceptive would be the first male birth control pill on the market. Difficulties in producing this pill apparently stemmed from trials that “target the male sex hormone testosterone, which could lead to side effects such as weight gain, depression, and increased low-density lipoprotein (known as LDL) cholesterol levels.”

They identified a different protein, with the extremely cool name retinoic acid receptor alpha, and said “knocking out the RAR-α gene in male mice makes them sterile, without any obvious side effects.” Other results of the tests reportedly confirmed that the male mice were able to reproduce several weeks after they stopped taking the medicine. Georg added that they are still testing alternative compounds, “Because it can be difficult to predict if a compound that looks good in animal studies will pan out in human trials.”

While this development is still in very early stages, it would be great to see a more consistent option for birth control be presented to men besides single-use condoms and the vasectomy procedure.