Male Anti-Fertility Pills Pass First Stage Of Safety Trials

A new male anti-fertility pill has passed the first round of human safety trials.v Research from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) and the University of Washington suggests a hopeful future for the pill, known as 11-beta-MNTDC.

Unlike other male birth control methods that have reached the trial stage, this pill reduced hormones required to sperm reduction without seriously harming male sex drive or sexual performance.

“Our results suggest that this pill, which combines two hormonal activities in one, will decrease sperm production while preserving libido,” said Dr. Christina Wang from LA BioMed. While the results are a huge success, the new male contraceptive still has a long way to go before it hits our shelves. It has yet to be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for approval and could require 10 years of additional testing.

In the initial study, 14 healthy men received 200mg of 11-beta-MNTDC, 16 received 400 mg, and the rest a placebo. Over the course of the 28 day trial, only about four to six men experienced mild side effects such as fatigue, acne, or headaches—common experiences for women who take birth control.

According to professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine Stephanie Page, the male birth control works by acting as a synthetic form of testosterone. “11-beta-MNTDC mimics testosterone through the rest of the body but is not concentrated enough in the testes to support sperm production,” Dr. Page said.

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