First hormone-free male birth control pills enter clinical trials

• Men currently have only two FDA-approved contraceptive options — condoms and vasectomies. Meanwhile, women have more than 20.

• A hormone-free male birth control pill, YCT-529, is advancing to clinical trials after showing 99% effectiveness in mice without impacting testosterone or libido.

• Scientists say fertility fully returned within weeks after stopping the drug, raising hopes it could reach the market this decade.

---

Full Story

There are more than 20 FDA-approved ways to prevent pregnancy, but only two of them are designated specifically for men, leaving the responsibility largely on women. 

But now, a new drug for men is showing promise and moving on to clinical trials.

What are men’s current choices?

While no contraception method is 100% foolproof, men’s two choices include vasectomies – which are most often permanent – or condoms.

While condoms have a 99% effectiveness rate in a clinical setting, when used in the real world, they’re only effective about 87% of the time.

How does this new drug work?

The new drug, an oral contraceptive known as YCT-529, was developed in a joint effort between the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, Columbia University in New York, and YourChoice Therapeutics.

It is a hormone-free pill, which scientists say works by stopping sperm production. However, it does not affect testosterone levels, meaning libido is not impacted.

The drug has already been tested in mice and was found to be 99% effective within four weeks of use. That’s on par with the efficacy of female birth control pills.

In non-human primates, the drug lowered sperm counts within two weeks of starting the pill.

Both mice and non-human primates fully regained fertility a few weeks after stopping the drug with no side effects reported.

This is the only birth control pill researchers are testing in men, and experts hope it will become available this decade.