MEN COULD SOON HAVE THEIR OWN REVERSIBLE BIRTH CONTROL AS WHO SAYS NEW METHODS MAY ARRIVE WITHIN 5 TO 10 YEARS
The World Health Organization says new reversible contraceptive methods for men could reach the market within the next five to 10 years, potentially transforming how couples share responsibility for preventing pregnancy. Several hormonal and non-hormonal methods are under development, with some candidates already in advanced clinical trials.
For decades, women have carried most of the burden when it comes to medical contraception.
That could finally be about to change.
The World Health Organization says new reversible contraceptive methods designed specifically for men could potentially reach the market within the next five to 10 years.
The development could represent one of the biggest changes in modern family planning by giving men considerably more control over preventing pregnancy without permanently affecting their fertility.
WHO revealed the timeline as it announced new guidelines aimed at expanding contraceptive choices and published its first Target Product Profiles for novel male contraceptives.
Several hormonal and non-hormonal methods are currently being researched, and some promising candidates have reached advanced clinical trials.
WHO says that progress suggests new reversible male contraceptives may become commercially available within five to 10 years.
But there is an important distinction.
This does not mean WHO has approved a male contraceptive pill for sale or guaranteed that one will arrive within five years.
The products under development must still demonstrate that they are safe, effective and reversible and must successfully complete clinical trials and regulatory processes before becoming widely available.
MEN CURRENTLY HAVE FEW OPTIONS
The contraceptive imbalance between men and women is substantial.
Women can choose from contraceptive pills, implants, injections, intrauterine devices and other methods.
Men have far fewer choices directly under their control.
WHO identifies the principal existing male-controlled methods as condoms, withdrawal and vasectomy.
Vasectomy is generally intended as a permanent contraceptive procedure, leaving men who want reversible contraception heavily dependent on condoms or withdrawal.
Yet WHO says approximately 30 percent of couples already rely on a male method of contraception.
The organization believes there is significant demand for more options.
Research cited by WHO challenges the longstanding assumption that men would be unwilling to use new contraceptive products.
More than 75 percent of couples surveyed said they would be willing to use a new male contraceptive.
More than 85 percent of women surveyed said they would trust their male partners to take responsibility for contraception.
Those findings could prove significant for pharmaceutical companies and researchers deciding whether there is a viable market for new products.
HOW COULD MALE CONTRACEPTION WORK?
Scientists are not pursuing just one male contraceptive.
WHO's new framework covers several different approaches.
One involves temporarily suppressing sperm production.
Another aims to interfere with sperm function so that sperm cannot successfully fertilise an egg.
A third approach focuses on temporarily blocking the transmission or transport of sperm.
The objective is the same.
Prevent pregnancy while allowing fertility to return after the man stops using the contraceptive.
That reversibility is one of the key requirements WHO wants developers to prioritise.
Safety is another.
Any new method would need to demonstrate that preventing pregnancy does not come with unacceptable health risks.
WHO's framework also identifies effectiveness, affordability and acceptability as important characteristics future products should meet.
NOT NECESSARILY A “MALE PILL”
The announcement is likely to generate headlines about a male birth-control pill.
But the research is broader than a pill.
Future products could use different delivery systems and biological mechanisms.
WHO's Target Product Profiles cover contraceptives that suppress sperm production, inhibit sperm function or block sperm transport.
The organization is attempting to establish common standards researchers and pharmaceutical developers can use when designing and testing these products.
That means the eventual contraceptive reaching consumers may not necessarily resemble the daily contraceptive pill millions of women currently use.
Several products could eventually emerge.
WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG?
Developing a reversible contraceptive for men presents a different biological challenge from preventing ovulation in women.
Men continuously produce millions of sperm.
A successful contraceptive therefore needs to suppress, disable or prevent enough sperm from reaching an egg while remaining safe and allowing fertility to recover after treatment stops.
Researchers must also demonstrate that side effects are acceptable for otherwise healthy people taking a medication primarily to prevent pregnancy.
Those requirements have contributed to decades of research without a widely available reversible pharmaceutical male contraceptive reaching the market.
WHO's involvement could now help accelerate development by providing researchers, regulators, funders and manufacturers with clearer standards for what successful products should achieve.
CONTRACEPTION COULD BECOME MORE SHARED
The implications extend beyond medical science.
Contraception has traditionally placed a disproportionate responsibility on women.
Women often have to remember daily pills, receive injections, undergo implant or IUD procedures or manage side effects associated with hormonal contraception.
A reliable reversible male method would give couples another way to divide that responsibility.
WHO's Pascale Allotey, Director of the Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, described contraceptive choice as an issue of gender equality.
WHO argues that both men and women need options allowing them to select methods based on effectiveness, convenience, invasiveness, reliability and accessibility.
The organisation says genuine contraceptive choice should also include the ability to change or stop a method.
WHO ALSO EXPANDS OPTIONS FOR WOMEN
The male contraception announcement forms part of a much broader WHO update on family planning.
WHO estimates that approximately 164 million women who want to delay or avoid pregnancy are currently not using contraception.
Its new guidelines therefore expand recommendations surrounding existing methods.
WHO says combined oral contraceptive pills can be taken for extended periods of up to six months or continuously for as long as one year as alternatives to cyclical use.
The organisation also supports the use of contraceptive implants for up to five years, potentially reducing replacement procedures, clinic visits and costs.
WHO has additionally recommended mifepristone as another emergency contraception option when taken as soon as possible and within five days of unprotected sex.
The organization says available evidence indicates that mifepristone at recommended doses is likely to be as safe and effective as other emergency contraceptive methods.
FIVE TO TEN YEARS IS AN ESTIMATE, NOT A GUARANTEE
The most important caution surrounding the male contraception announcement is the timeline.
Five to ten years is WHO's assessment of what may be possible based on the current research pipeline.
It is not a guaranteed launch date.
Clinical trials can fail.
Unexpected side effects can emerge.
Regulatory reviews can take years.
Manufacturing, pricing and distribution can create additional delays even after a product demonstrates effectiveness.
And a contraceptive approved in one country may not immediately become available everywhere else.
For Nigeria and other African countries, eventual availability would also depend on national regulatory approval, pricing, health policy and distribution.
The immediate development is therefore scientific rather than commercial.
Men cannot yet walk into a pharmacy and purchase one of these new reversible contraceptives.
But researchers are getting closer.
And if the most promising candidates successfully navigate the remaining clinical and regulatory hurdles, contraception within the next decade could become considerably less one-sided.
After generations in which women have had numerous medical options while men largely chose between condoms and permanent sterilization, the contraceptive conversation could finally be heading towards something different.
