A Look at the Promising Future of Male Contraceptives

In, “On the trail of the male contraceptive pill, James Mitchell Crow writes for Chemistry World about recent advances in the field of male contraception, following decades of stalled progress. Currently there are still only two male contraceptive methods available: condoms and vasectomy. However, with new dedicated funding from the NICHD and male contraception advocacy groups, clinical trials have begun for two non-hormonal and four hormonal male contraceptives and at least a dozen other options are in development. One non-hormonal male contraceptive currently in early-stage clinical trials is a hydrogel designed to block sperm flow by reversibly plugging the vas deferens. ‘I don’t think there’s ever been this many different product forms for male contraception in clinical trials.’- Logan Nickels, chief research officer at the Male Contraceptive Initiative (MCI).  

There is high interest from both women and men for male contraception around the world. One challenge with developing male contraception is that because men have no health risks to themselves if their partner becomes pregnant, they may not choose to use something that comes with side effects, so research has focused on methods with few to no side effects, which can be challenging. New male contraceptive methods still face a long journey to becoming widely available due to lengthy clinical research and regulatory processes, however early progress and interest from future consumers is a sign that things are moving in a positive direction. 

A related article, Sharing the burden of contraception could also mean sharing the risk, by Jennifer Newton in Chemistry World discusses how women have historically shouldered the burden of contraception. With new male methods on the horizon, many are advocating to shift to a shared model of risk, where “the sum of the risks to both members of a couple associated with contraceptive use by either or both members…is compared to the risk of unintended pregnancy to the couple as a whole.” The article argues that men and women should share both the benefits and risks of contraception.