Testing of a new male birth control pill has revealed an oral contraception for men is one step closer.
The pill, known as 11-beta-MNTDC, has passed the first round of rigorous human safety tests with promising results.
The research comes from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) and the University of Washington, and so far it's shown showed very promising results.
At this stage the drug has managed to safely reduce hormones required for sperm reduction without drastically affecting men’s sex drives or sexual performance.
“Our results suggest that this pill, which combines two hormonal activities in one, will decrease sperm production while preserving libido,” Dr Christina Wang from LA BioMed said in a report.
However the drug is still a way off being submitted for approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
It could still be 10 years before it hits the shelves.
The study.
The study involved 40 healthy men, with 14 receiving 200mg of the 11-beta-MNTDC drug, 16 receiving 400mg, and the rest receiving a placebo.
The doses were taken daily with food for 28 days.
According to Dr Wang, between four and six men experienced mild side effects like fatigue, acne or headaches, which is similar to women who take the contraceptive pill.
While Five men reported mildly decreased sex drive, and two men described mild erectile dysfunction, but sexual activity was not decreased, she said. Again, some women also experience decreased sex drives as a result of the pill.
