Breakthrough MALE birth control pill is here at last

A breakthrough medication is entering the testing phase as science seeks to bring male birth control into reality.

The hormone-free contraceptive, currently called YCT-529, was tested on mice and proven to be 99% effective which is on par with the efficacy of many female birth control products. The medication was formulated in a way to block the production of sperm without negatively impacting the patient’s libido, and experts are hoping the product will be available within the next decade.

“A safe and effective male pill will provide more options to couples for birth control,” said University of Minnesota chemist and pharmacist Gunda Georg. “It will allow a more equitable sharing of responsibility for family planning and provide reproductive autonomy for men.”

Birth control has long been a female responsibility, with only two options existing for men: Condoms and vasectomies. YCT-529 would be a first-of-its-kind product, resulting from the collaborative efforts of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, Columbia University in New York and YourChoice Therapeutics.

“In the team’s lab experiments, the drug caused infertility in male mice and was 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancies within four weeks of use,” the Daily Mail reported. “Meanwhile, in the male non-human primates, the drug lowered sperm counts within just two weeks of starting the drug.”

Both test groups, mice and primates, regained the ability to produce fertile sperm after stopping the drugs, with no apparent negative effects. It took mice about six weeks to fully regain fertility, while primates regained fertility within 10 to 15 weeks.

The first phase of human testing was successfully completed, resulting in proof that “the drug candidate was safe for use in men.” The second phase will take place among a small group of male volunteers in New Zealand, and will further test the safety and efficacy of the medication. Those results should be released by the end of 2025.

Writer/Columnist

Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to BizPac Review.

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