After 60 years: Male birth control pill finally within reach (2025)

• Laboratory tests show the new male contraceptive pill YCT-529 is 99pc effective in preventing pregnancies without affecting testosterone or libido.
• If approved, it would be the first male oral contraceptive, potentially available this decade.

The long-elusive dream of couples sharing the family planning responsibility could soon become a reality, thanks to a new male birth control pill currently undergoing trials.

The male equivalent birth control medication named YCT-529 is the only non-hormonal contraceptive pill for men and is also the only one being tested on humans.

Scientists are upbeat that the contraceptive will be available for use this decade if given a go ahead by health authorities.

YCT-529 is highly effective in preventing pregnancies at 99 per cent, making it just as efficient as the female contraceptive pill, according to initial tests conducted on mice.

The analysis on YCT-529 is being spearheaded by a team of researchers drawn from YourChoice Therapeutics in San Francisco, the New York-based Columbia University, and the University of Minnesota’s College of Pharmacy.

According to experts, the hormone-free contraceptive does not affect libido in men because it prevents the production of semen by blocking Vitamin A access in the testes without disrupting levels of testosterone.

The first phase of the study involving human tests has already been concluded; with scientists finding “the drug candidate to be safe” for men's use.

The results on the efficacy and safety of the medication are expected to be announced later this year.

The phase two human tests currently underway in New Zealand involving a small group of male volunteers are progressing well, according to the researchers say.

Scientists conducted tests on monkeys and mice in the first phase of the study published in the Journal of Communication Medicine.

After using the drug for one month (four weeks), the laboratory experiments found it to be 99 per cent effective in pregnancy prevention, and it also caused male mice to be infertile.

When the drug was tested on monkeys, results showed that the sperm count decreased after just two weeks of using it.

After stopping the medication, fertility was regained in both mice and monkeys; and there were no side effects detected in both species, which was the most important aspect, researchers explained.

While sperm count was fully restored within 10 -15 weeks in monkeys, it took mice six weeks to regain their fertility.

“An effective and safe male contraceptive will provide more birth control options to couples,” opines the University of Minnesota’s Pharmacist, Gunda Georg.

“It will provide men with reproductive autonomy and allow the family planning responsibility to be shared more equitably.”

If YCT-529 is approved for commercialisation, men will finally have an oral birth control pill similar to the one available for women’s use, which was approved in the 1960s.

It is estimated that nearly a quarter of women on contraception use oral birth control pills; but scientists are yet to come up with equivalent methods for men.

Vasectomy, popularly known as “the snip”, condoms, and withdrawal, are the only methods available for men to prevent their partners from getting pregnant.

Currently, withdrawal or coitus interruptus - by its scientific name- and condoms are the only two birth control methods that are reversible for men.

Vasectomy entails cutting or blocking an area of the male reproductive system responsible for keeping sperm out of the semen.

According to experts, while all vasectomies can be reversed, it is not a guarantee for a successful conception.

A reversal can be done even after several years since undergoing the first vasectomy but the longer it takes, the lower the chances of reversal success.

“After reversal, the likelihood of pregnancy occurrence is more than 50 per cent,” states Mayo Clinic.

“Success rates, however, begin to reduce after 15 years since the initial vasectomy. Sperm health and age of your partner are factors that can affect pregnancy chances even after a successful vasectomy reversal.”

In contrast, several birth control options are available for women; including short-term options such as contraceptive pills, patches and diaphragm or cap, which have an effective rate of about 93 per cent.

Intrauterine devices that work by preventing the ovum from implanting, and implants, which stop egg release by producing hormones, are long-term female contraceptive methods and are over 99 per cent effective.

Since the 1950s, scientists have been wracking their brains to develop male contraceptive drugs that are effective; from pills and injections to gels.

Vulcanised rubber, which ushered in condoms to the world’s population, was the last landmark breakthrough in birth control for men, and it was discovered by an American scientist, Charles Goodyear, in 1839.