The Daily Populous Tuesday June 4th, 2024 day edition
Authored by salon.com and submitted by Sariel007

In the palm of your hand, it looks like a glop of hair gel. But this goo could one day revolutionize the reproductive health landscape by being the first male birth control to hit the market.

On Sunday, we got one step closer to that reality. Scientists with the National Institutes of Health’s Contraceptive Development Program announced encouraging results from a phase 2 trial demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the drug.

“The development of a safe, highly effective and reliably reversible contraceptive method for men is an unmet need,” said senior researcher Diana Blithe, Ph.D., chief of the Contraceptive Development Program, said in a statement. “While studies have shown that some hormonal agents may be effective for male contraception, the slow onset of spermatogenic suppression is a limitation.”

In the trial, more than 220 participants aged 18 to 50-years-old successfully reduced their sperm production with minimal side effects. The phase 2b trial aimed to reduce sperm production in patients to up to 1 million per milliliter, putting it well below the threshold of 15 million to 200 million deemed necessary for a man to be fertile. The product — which lowers sperm count with a combination of testosterone and a synthetic hormone called Nestorone (segesterone acetate) — succeeded for 86% of trial participants. Patients applied 5 milliliters of the drug combo between their shoulder blades every day for a year-and-a-half.

The research, which was presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Boston, has yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a journal. More research is needed before the drug is finally approved and becomes available for the market.

There are currently no male contraceptives that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Indeed, because it is difficult for pharmaceutical companies to receive funding of this research, only a handful of previous drugs have even reached the clinical trial phase. Experts hope the latest advances will move the ball forward.

“We’ve been pushing for hormonal male contraceptives for 50 years, but there isn’t enough money available to really drive something through a very large phase 3 trial,” Daniel Johnston, chief of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Contraception Research Branch, told NBC News. Now that this research succeeded, they believe it will be easier to convince other investors to have faith in them. “We’ve been chasing this for a long time. I hope we’re entering new territory," Johnston added.

corrado33 on June 3rd, 2024 at 23:26 UTC »

For those wondering:

The "gel" is applied between the shoulder blades every day.

It's not lube.

Typically the issues with male birth control are:

It takes too long to take effect (6 months or more) It doesn't reduce sperm account enough in all men (inconsistent results) It could result in hardening of men's arteries (aka permanent, life reducing effects.)

Drover15 on June 3rd, 2024 at 23:00 UTC »

How do people sign up to be a part of these trails

santathe1 on June 3rd, 2024 at 21:56 UTC »

“Hold on babe, gotta apply the son block first”.