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American researchers have developed a male contraceptive pill. Unlike other tests carried out in the past, this prototype does not contain hormones, and would not cause side effects.
Will the male pill finally see the light of day? In any case, this is what a team of American researchers is working on, which announced on Wednesday that it had developed a contraceptive pill for men. Tested for the time being only on mice, it reaches an efficiency of 99%. Human trials are scheduled for the second part of 2022. If they prove conclusive, commercialization could be envisaged within five years. Micheline Misrahi-Abadou, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Paris-Saclay University, greets a “very important step forward“. Until then, attempts to develop a male pill were unpromising and used hormonal techniques. “We have tried a lot of testosterone in men, which has an inhibitory effect on the control axis of spermatogenesis [le processus de fabrication des spermatozoïdes, ndlr]», develops Micheline Misrahi-Abadou, also national referent for genetic infertility at the Bicêtre hospital. “But the tests showed that there were complications, and that we were not able to completely inhibit spermatogenesis.she continues.
“Extremely promising”
American researchers do not use hormones, but a chemical compound. In the body, the formation of spermatozoa takes place thanks to retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A. But to play this role, retinoic acid needs an element: a receptor…