in the two trials covered by the study, 96 male participants were randomly given either two oral pills per day, four oral pills per day or a placebo every day for a 28-day period. after seven days on the drug, testosterone levels dropped below the normal range in men taking the active drug while remaining the same for the placebo group. after the study was completed, 75 per cent of men given the actual drugs wanted to continue taking it compared to just 46.4 per cent of those given the placebo.
although men taking two 200-milligram pills per day had lower testosterone than those taking one per day, there was no significant difference between these groups in terms of satisfaction with the drug and their willingness to continue using it or recommending it to others.
“men’s positive experiences in clinical trials and high ratings of acceptability for this male pill should serve to excite the public about male birth control being potentially widely available in the coming decades,” jacobsohn said.
despite the encouraging results, the researcher cautioned that the new medications have a long road ahead of them and it is likely that men would have to take one of the two drugs daily for three months to achieve sufficient sperm suppression to prevent pregnancy. this means the length of the current study would not have been long enough to ensure the contraception was effective at achieving its main goal.
“we are working toward a phase 2 trial that will include a contraceptive efficacy endpoint but there are lots of steps to get there, including more early phase studies,” she said,
according to medscape
.