The team of scientists from the University of Minnesota, gave an assurance that the contraceptive was considered safe for men as it does not target the male hormones – testosterone.

Dr. Abdullah Al Noman, one of the researchers and a graduate student at the Gunda George Laboratory in the university, said the team wanted to develop a non-hormonal male contraceptive that would not target the male sex hormone testosterone, thereby avoiding side effects like weight gain and depression that men may experience while using it.

Dr. Al Noman explained that they were interested in the research because it remained the only option available for use for men, as single-use condom was prone to failure and vasectomy, though available for men, is considered a permanent form of male sterilization, hence the reason for the innovation.

He said, “While women can take several pills or use patches or intrauterine devices, men only have access to single-use condoms which are prone to failure and largely irreversible vasectomies.

“Vasectomies are surgical procedures which can potentially be reversed, but are generally considered a permanent form of male sterilisation. The reversal surgery is expensive and not always successful which shows the need for an effective, long-lasting but reversible contraceptive, similar to the birth control pill for women.

“For decades, scientists have been trying to develop an effective male oral contraceptive, but there are still no approved pills in the market.”

As the human trials is slated for the second half of the year, the head of the medicinal chemistry department at the university, Dr. Georg, said, “Because it can be difficult to predict if a compound that looks good in animal studies will also pan out well in human trials, we are currently exploring other compounds as well.”

Source:  HealthWise