Finally: A successful reversible male contraceptive gel developed
An experimental new type of male contraceptive has been developed by the Parsemus Foundation bringing prospect of a male contraception closer.
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The Parsemus Foundation, a non-profit organisation that funded the work, said it plans to start a human trial as soon as funding is secured, based on the promising monkey results.
“One of the great things about the monkey model is that the male reproductive tract is very similar to humans and they have even more sperm than humans do,” Catherine VandeVoort, of the California National Primate Research Centre and the study’s lead author said as reported by the guardian.
After decades of male contraceptive not changing much, the prospect of an alternative form of birth control for humans is closer now than ever.
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“Chances are it’s going to be effective in humans.” VandeVoort added.
Valsalgel is injected into the vas deferens - the tube that carries sperm out of the testicles - where it forms an impenetrable gel barrier.
The company behind it says a two-year trial, published in Basic and Clinical Andrology, shows the gel works and is safe and has potential to revolutionize the market.
It would be the first new type of male contraceptive to hit the market in many decades.
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Why it took this long for the male contraceptive method to be created is because most pharmaceutical companies in the field with the capacity to carry out research and develop contraceptives methods for men are reluctant to do so, since female contraceptives drugs are huge and reeking in billions of dollars every year.
The good news about this new family control is that it can be easily reversed whenever one wishes to have an additional child unlike vasectomy which is a permanent procedure.
The research showed that the gel could be removed by flushing the duct with baking soda solution.
Vasectomy has failed to pick off since due to its permanent nature, most men especially Kenyan men often fear the stigma of being seen as having lost their masculinity.
Some men have been willing to try male contraceptive method because of the severe side effects female contraceptive drugs have on their wives but have been put off by the irreversible nature of the traditional vasectomy.
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Last year during the World Vasectomy day, at least 150 Kenyan men live-streamed their 20-minute procedure in a bid to reduce the stigma associated to Vasectomy.
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