While previous studies have shown little progress in the area of male contraceptives, a new study has just been released showing that a prototype of a male contraceptive pill appears to be safe, Newsweek reports.
That’s right, viable male birth control could be in the near future according to this month-long trial — which means men might finally be sharing the responsibility of birth control with females in a big way. While it’s true that men already have the option of using condoms as a contraceptive, a pill would mean that males would have similar options as females when it comes to prescription birth control.
The prototype is called Dimethandrolone undecanoate or DMAU for short. It was tested in a study on 83 men ages 18-50 who took the experimental drug for 28 days. The drug is now ready to be tested for long term use in another study and according to senior investigator Stephanie Page MD, the success was “unprecedented.” As Page told Newsweek, previous attempts at developing a male contraceptive have failed, due to the effects of oral testosterone which can cause liver damage. This new drug addresses this issue and has so far shown promising results.
This could be an attractive option for contraception since pills may be preferred by some men over longer-term injections and gels. The drug works similarly to existing female birth control because it uses hormones to stop sperm production. If it continues to be successful, it could mean a viable daily oral contraceptive for males, something that could definitely bring change.
This new drug would definitely offer more options for both males and females when it comes to contraception but don’t forget: birth control doesn’t protect from STIs and isn’t a replacement for good old-fashioned condoms.