Hormone-free male birth control pill passes first safety trial

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A hormone-free male birth control pill has passed its first human safety trial, inching closer to a potential oral contraceptive for men.  

The drug called YCT-529 decreases sperm count by blocking a vitamin A metabolite from binding to its receptor in the testes, thus disrupting a key part of the sperm-making process. 

Unlike traditional birth control pills, the drug — produced by YourChoice Therapeutics — is not intended to affect hormone production.  

The pill’s safety results from the small-scale clinical trial were published in the journal Communications Medicine on July 22.  

Early tests of the drug’s effect on mice and primates suggested YCT-529 is fully reversible, only  temporarily halting sperm production without any significant side effects.  

While the human test didn’t examine the drug’s efficacy, the results of the small clinical found that the drug is safe to use in humans, according to researchers. 

The trial included 16 healthy men — between the ages of 32 and 59 — who had undergone vasectomies, which is a permanent surgical contraceptive procedure that involves the cutting and blocking of the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles. 

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Researchers picked men who had undergone this procedure as a safety precaution since no hormone-free male contraceptive had ever been tested in humans before, and they did not want to risk permanently affecting the participants’ fertility, Nadja Mannowetz, co-founder and chief science officer of YourChoice Therapeutics, told Scientific American. 

Participants either took the drug twice during the trial at increasing doses or took a placebo. 

The men were monitored for 15 days with researchers concluding that the drug had no effects on heart rate, hormone levels, inflammation levels, sexual desire or mood. 

Researchers also didn’t observe any effects on liver and kidney function. 

A second trial is currently underway which will test the drug on a larger number of participants. 

YCT-529 joins several other reversible male birth control options for men that are currently undergoing clinical trials, including NES/T (Nestorone/Testosterone), a hormone-based gel that’s designed to suppress sperm production. 

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