Optimization of lead compounds into on-demand, non-hormonal contraceptives: leveraging a public-private drug discovery institute collaboration.

Optimization of lead compounds into on-demand, non-hormonal contraceptives: leveraging a public-private drug discovery institute collaboration. Biol Reprod. 2020 Apr 20;: Authors: Balbach M, Fushimi M, Huggins DJ, Steegborn C, Meinke PT, Levin LR, Buck J Abstract Efforts to develop new male or female non-hormonal, orally available contraceptives assume that to be effective and safe, targets must be (1) essential for fertility; (2) amenable to targeting by small-molecule inhibitors; and (3) restricted to the germline. In this perspective, we question the third assumption and propose that despite its wide expression, soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC: ADCY10), which is essential for male fertility, is a valid target. We hypothesize that an acute-acting sAC inhibitor may provide orally available, on-demand, non-hormonal contraception for men without adverse, mechanism-based effects. To test this concept, we describe a collaboration between academia and the unique capabilities of a public-private drug discovery institute. PMID: 32307523 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Biology of Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Tags: Biol Reprod Source Type: research