Pregnancy prevention should be a shared duty, according to specialists, and the first men in the world to test a hormone-free tablet, YCT-529, are males from the United Kingdom.
The medicine inhibits the binding of retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-alpha) to a specific type of vitamin A by blocking the activity of this protein in the body. British researchers are now studying a male contraceptive pill that gives men more control over their reproductive health by allowing them to avoid undesired pregnancies with little to no side effects and a high rate of dependability.
Professor Gunda Georg of the University of Minnesota has spent the past two decades developing medicine. In light of the information we have on the long list of adverse effects that women have experienced with the pill, she thinks it is only fair to provide a male contraceptive product that does not include hormones. Research has shown that the medicine reduced monkey sperm levels after two weeks and was 99 percent efficient in preventing pregnancies in mice. The results showed that it was safe and could be reversed with therapy. One survey found that one-third of British males who report having sexual relations would be open to trying a male-specific pill.
The other hormonal drugs used in the male contraceptive pill trials work by lowering testosterone levels, which in turn stops the creation of sperm. Despite this, fiddling with testosterone does not entirely halt sperm production and is associated with severe adverse effects, including weight gain, acne, mood swings, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Biopharmaceutical firm YourChoice Therapeutics, which was established to provide male-specific non-hormonal contraceptive treatments, is conducting the phase one experiment.
Investors in the new pill are part of the Male Contraceptive Initiative, which backs initiatives to find better ways to prevent pregnancy. The hormonal birth control gel that reached phase III trials in 2022 and the male contraceptive tablet dimethandrolone undecanoate are both now in the testing phase.
