Hormone-free birth control pill for men goes to human trial for first time

A hormone-free birth control pill for men is in the works with the first round of human trials underway.

YourChoice Therapeutics' YCT-529 pill works by hindering access to vitamin A and subsequently preventing the production of sperm. According to Business Wire, this ideology has been well-established in the science world since the 1930s, where trials found that depriving mice, rats and monkeys of vitamin A affected fertility.

YourChoice Therapeutics explained that the pill is taken daily with claims that it has a higher contraceptive effect than condoms.

The company also suggests that it does not impact fertility in the future "with a return to regular levels" when required.

The pill is still in its early stages, with the first trial investigating the safety – along with other factors – said to finish next summer.

Developer and founding director of the Institutes for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, Gunda Georg, said the last contraceptive pill breakthrough was for women, 60 years ago.

"The world is ready for a male contraceptive agent and delivering one that’s hormone-free is simply the right thing to do given what we know about the side effects women have endured for decades from The Pill," Georg said.

"We consciously chose to inhibit the vitamisignallingling pathway in the testis because nearly 100 years of research has validated this pathway and shows that infertility can be reversed easily."

Akash Bakshi, co-founder and CEO of YourChoice Therapeutics, added:" The dearth of options reinforces the centuries-old view that pregnancy prevention is ‘a woman’s responsibility.’ It’s not, and we’re committed to advancing the first hormone-free birth control pill for men that’s effective, convenient, and temporary.

"We thank our investors and the male volunteers who have stepped forward to be a part of this mission."

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