A human trial testing a male birth control pill has shown little risk of serious side effects.
According to the team of researchers leading the study from the University of Washington School of Medicines in Seattle, the 30 men in the first phase of the trial reported no adverse side effects after using the drug for 28 days.
The researchers, who presented their findings at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, said that it is too soon to report on the efficacy of the drug, which will require at least 60 to 90 days of use to test. But early hormonal changes were “consistent with effective contraception.”
The drug being tested is currently referred to as 11-beta-methyl-19-nortestosterone dodecylcarbonate and works by signaling to the brain that testosterone levels are adequate, which ultimately helps lower sperm counts.
Despite the positive trial results, experts say that due to all the trials required, it could be a decade or more before a male contraception pill hits the market.
Read the Reuters report.