A long-awaited birth control option for men may be closer to reality | CNN (2024)

A long-awaited birth control option for men may be closer to reality | CNN (1)

A gel that suppresses sperm production could become the first hormonal contraceptive for men.

CNN

After decades of false starts, researchers say they are finally making progress on a long-acting and reversible birth control option for men.

The experimental product is a hormonal gel that men rub on their shoulders once daily. Over time, it blocks the production of sperm in the testes.

A man applies testosterone gel. Men in the study received a daily testosterone gel or a placebo for an average of 22 months. Marc Bruxelle/Alamy Stock Photo Related article Testosterone-replacement therapy doesn’t raise ‘major’ heart risks, study says

The gel was developed by the National Institutes of Health and the nonprofit Population Council, and it takes much the same approach as birth control pills for women. It uses two hormones: nestorone, a progestin, and testosterone, the male sex hormone.The nestorone suppresses the production of testosterone in the testes and, with it, the development of sperm.

But testosterone serves many functions in the body: It is responsible for muscle maintenance and libido, for example, and men need some in their circulation to function normally. The gel replaces enough to keep them healthy but not so much that they make enough sperm to get someone pregnant.

Researchers have been formulating and refining the dose and concentration of the gel since 2005.In this latest test, which included more than 300 couples, they think they got it right.

Normal sperm counts range from about 15 million to 200 million sperm per milliliter of semen, and studies have shown that sperm counts of less than 1 million per milliliter are low enough to prevent pregnancy.

In a clinical trial, 86% of men achieved these low sperm counts by 15 weeks of using the gel.For some, it worked even faster, suppressing sperm production within four to eight weeks.

“We’ve been just really excited by the results. The combination seems to provide better, faster suppression than we expected,” said Diana Blithe, branch chief of the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, who gave an update on the trial results this week at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Boston.

Blithe declined to say whether there were any unintended pregnancies during the trial.The researchers hope to have the final data published in a medical journal, and she said she didn’t want to give away the results.

This illustration provided by Perrigo in May, 2023, depicts proposed packaging for the company's birth control medication Opill. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration meet next week to review drugmaker Perrigo's application to sell a decades-old pill over the counter. The two-day public meeting is one of the last steps before an FDA decision. (Perrigo via AP) Perrigo/AP Related article FDA advisers vote unanimously in support of over-the-counter birth-control pill

“I would say our expectation was that it would be similar to hormonal birth control pills. And I can just say that it’s much, much better than that,” she said.

With typical use, birth control pills, rings and patches for women have failure rates of about 7%, meaning 7 women of every 100 who use the method for a year will get pregnant.Condoms have a failure rate of about 13%.

The gel also seems to have other advantages over female birth control. For example, if a woman misses a day or two of the pill, she can ovulate, making it more likely that she’ll have an unintended pregnancy.

With the gel, if a man’s sperm production is fully suppressed and he misses a day or two of usage, his hormones would start to recover, but it takes about 8 to 10 weeks for a man’s sperm count to recover to levels that would cause a pregnancy.

Blithe says that in clinical trials, the researchers are not seeing the kind of mood swings and depression that women can experience with birth control pills, either.

“I would say that there’s a small percentage who have mood swings that they don’t like, but that’s it’s a relatively small number. And we’ve actually been surprised at how few,” she said.

The World Health Organization tested injections that used a similar combination of hormones. The approach seemed effective, but the study enrollment was stopped early, in 2011, because the shots caused too many side effects, including serious depression.

Blithe said that was because the hormones were clearing at different rates when injected.With the gel, a concentration of hormones seems to build up in the skin and create a reservoir that releases more slowly.

“That fluctuation is not really happening, so we’re not creating ups and downs,” she said.

Matthew Treviño, 35, of Sacramento, California, participated in the study. He rubs a little gel on each shoulder first thing in the morning and says it’s become as routine as showering and brushing his teeth.

Aside from a little weight gain, he’s had no complaints, he said.If anything, his sex drive has increased.

“I’ve only experienced increased libido,” he told the “Unfold” podcast, which is produced by the University of California at Davis, which was also one of the study sites. “Maybe I’m just lucking out, but I hope this is the case for the majority of participants. If it is, it’s definitely going to change contraception as a whole.”

To participate in the study, couples had to be in committed relationships, and they signed on for a two-year commitment to the research.

Men are warned that they could experience a number of side effects from the gel, including dry or oily skin, increased or decreased libido, hair growth or loss, and mood swings.

Close up IV drip on patient hand Twenty47studio/Moment RF/Getty Images Related article Greater numbers of younger people got permanent contraception after Dobbs decision, study finds

For Treviño’s partner, Emily Fletcher, 28, participating in the research meant giving up her own birth control – an IUD – and taking a big leap of faith right around the time the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“I was worried,” she told “Unfold.” “There was still a thought in the back of my mind that ‘maybe this will be an issue if the drug doesn’t work, and I get pregnant.’ “

Fletcher and Treviño, who are both researchers at UC Davis, ultimately felt like it was important to participate in the study.

Treviño told the podcast he’s been interested in a male contraceptive for a long time. To him, it doesn’t feel fair that his partner has to shoulder the burden of birth control.

Women release an egg only once a month, on average, whereas men produce about 1,000 sperm every second.

“Maybe the burden is on the wrong side,” Treviño said. “I kind of think it’s unfair that it only lands on the women.”

After men stop using the gel, their sperm count returns to normal levels within two or three months.After the recovery phase of the trial, many of the participants went on to become fathers, proving that the method is fully reversible, Blithe said.

That’s a big step forward. Right now, the only birth control options for men are condoms, which have a high failure rate, and vasectomy, a surgical procedure that can be hard to reverse.

The researchers have started a conversation with the US Food and Drug Administration about how to test the gel in a final definitive trial.No male contraceptive method has ever made it this far, Blithe said.

Normally, drugs that make it to this stage have to be compared head-to-head against a placebo. But testing a true placebo in research where the goal is to prevent pregnancy just wouldn’t be ethical, said Dr. Christina Wang, a co-principal investigator on the trial, who specializes in male reproductive biology at the Lundquist Institute at UCLA’s Harbor Medical Center.

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    If the researchers get the FDA’s nod for a trial, they hope to start the final phase of testing in 2025.It will take another couple years, and Wang said they’ll probably expand the study to more locations and recruit more couples.

    Big trials usually require significant investment, too. Blithe says she’s hopeful they’ll get interest from pharmaceutical companies.

    Dr. Brian Nguyen, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Southern California who has been involved in helping participants with the social and behavioral needs during the trial, says he’s looking forward to seeing the gel come to market and usher in a new era of gender equity in birth control.

    “We often think of men as kind of not being aware or not wanting to be involved. But when you think about men who are in very close partnerships, how does a female partner hide the fact that they are either in pain, or they’re having abnormal bleeding, or mood swings?” he said. “It’s a couples-driven medication, which is very unique.”

    A long-awaited birth control option for men may be closer to reality | CNN (2024)

    FAQs

    A long-awaited birth control option for men may be closer to reality | CNN? ›

    A long-awaited birth control option for men may be closer to reality. A gel that suppresses sperm production could become the first hormonal contraceptive for men. After decades of false starts, researchers say they are finally making progress on a long-acting and reversible birth control option for men.

    When will male contraception be available? ›

    If all trials are safe and successful, the manufacturers believe they may be able to bring the pill to the general public in 5 years. However, this is optimistic as these processes can take an extremely long time.

    Are men willing to take birth control? ›

    According to one 2023 survey published in the journal Contraception, three-quarters of 2,066 male respondents said they'd be willing to use new contraceptives. In 2019, the nonprofit Male Contraceptive Initiative estimated more than 17 million men in the U.S. want more birth control options.

    Does birth control change your perception of men? ›

    It may even be influencing yours. When the researchers compared the two sets of images (pre-pill and post-pill), they found that women's ideal male, but not female, faces became significantly less masculine once they started taking the birth control pill.

    What happens if a man takes birth control long term? ›

    If you accidentally take one or even a few pills, nothing is likely to happen. But if you keep taking contraceptives, it can cause some changes to your body over time. Long-term use of estrogen-based contraception can cause the breast tissue to develop. It can affect your sex drive and fertility.

    Will there ever be birth control for men? ›

    A gel that suppresses sperm production could become the first hormonal contraceptive for men. After decades of false starts, researchers say they are finally making progress on a long-acting and reversible birth control option for men.

    Will they sell Plan B to a guy? ›

    Plan B One-Step and Next Choice are available from drugstores and health centers without a prescription for women and men 17 and older.

    What would birth control do to a man? ›

    What happens if a man takes birth control pills? Taking one or two birth control pills won't do anything. However, using them for a longer period of time can lead to the development of breast tissue, wider hips, reduced facial hair and shrinking testicles.

    Can birth control change your attraction to your partner? ›

    Thus, if a woman's hormonal contraceptive use has changed since the time of partner choice, her mate preferences will be somewhat different, and therefore we predicted she may experience a moderate decrease in desire for her partner since he may no longer match her preferences as closely.

    What kind of men does birth control make you attracted to? ›

    In particular, this research finds that estrogen increases women's preference for men whose faces, voices, and behaviors exhibit cues to the presence of relatively high levels of the male sex hormone, testosterone (we're talking square jaws, deep voices, and swagger).

    What happens if a man takes estrogen for a month? ›

    After beginning Estrogen Hormone Therapy, you will notice that the number of erections you experience has lessened. It may also not be firm enough or last long enough to penetrate. However, you will be able to experience orgasms and even have erotic sensations.

    What does Plan B do to a man? ›

    If a cisgender man or person assigned male at birth takes hormonal birth control (like the pill) once or twice, nothing will happen.

    Is it OK to be on birth control forever? ›

    If you've been taking birth control pills for some time and have had no side effects, it's likely that you can continue using them for as long as your doctor deems it's still a safe choice. For most healthy people, birth control pills are safe for long-term use.

    What is the new birth control pill in 2024? ›

    In July of 2023, the FDA approved Opill, a progestin-only form of oral contraception, for over-the-counter access, thereby eliminating the need for a prescription in order to access this contraceptive method. Opill has officially launched, and hit some pharmacy shelves on March 18, 2024.

    When will vasalgel be available? ›

    Vasalgel is only in pre-clinical studies right now. Still, Fox remains optimistic that clinical trials of Vasalgel will start at the end of 2023 and be available to the market the following year.

    When will Contraline be available? ›

    Contraline is currently preparing for an IDE (Investigational Device Exemption) submission in 2024, with subsequent plans for initiation of a US registration trial.

    Why was the male contraceptive study halted? ›

    Trials have been cancelled because of side effects that are similar to those women put up with, including mood changes, acne and reduced libido. By 1964, Pincus had been experimenting with sperm-stopping pills for six years.

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