Promising Male Birth Control Pill Is Safe and Effective, Study Says

The female birth control pill has stood on the market alone for decades. Now, a male birth control pill could be inching closer to reality, according to the results of a small new study presented in Chicago at the annual Endocrine Society meeting. It found that an experimental drug is both safe and effective. Researchers who conducted a month-long trial involving 83 men said the once-daily pill lowered hormone levels similarly to other forms of longer-term contraceptives—without signs of testosterone deficiency or excess. The pill, called dimethandrolone undecanoate, or DMAU, is structured similarly to the female pill, according to study author Dr. Stephanie Page. The drug is being developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the group also funded the study, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. “DMAU is a major step forward in the development of a once-daily ‘male pill’,” said Page, who is a professor of medicine at the University of Washington, in a statement. “Many men say they would prefer a daily pill as a reversible contraceptive, rather than long-acting injections or topical gels, which are also in development.” A daily pill for males has long been elusive to pharmaceutical developers, as oral testosterone in previous forms may damage the liver or clear the body too quickly to work in just one pill per day. The pill form that DMAU takes, Page said, contains a long-chain fatty acid to make the ...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Birth Control healthytime onetime Research Source Type: news