This newsletter is a monthly publication of two not-for-profit organizations working to speed development of new male contraceptives. We bring you all the latest news related to male contraceptive research and development from popular press as well as scientific sources. To encourage faster development of new methods of contraception for men, we’ll feature an opportunity for activism each month.
Have a question about new male contraceptives not answered on our websites MaleContraceptives.org and MCIP.info? Post it to the discussion group.
New male contraceptive clears hurdle
30 March, San Francisco
“Tyler Dunlap, a 27-year-old newlywed in San Francisco, is just one of the many American men eagerly awaiting the results of a large clinical trial in India.
The trial is studying a new male contraceptive, RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance), a reversible, nonhormonal contraceptive that provides 10 or more years of protection after a 10-15 minute procedure. Researchers received approval this week to begin enrolling additional study volunteers, after a delay of nearly four years.
"RISUG would be exciting because it would mean that, finally, I could take control of my own future, instead of leaving it to someone else," says Dunlap. "Being in a committed long-term relationship means that I don't want to rely on condoms for birth control. I'm not ready for a vasectomy, though. This new procedure could be the answer that gives men the decisive control we lack with current contraceptives."
In the RISUG study, doctors inject a gel into the tube that sperm travel through after they are produced (known as the vas deferens). The gel then disables the sperm as they swim by. In study animals, male fertility returns if the RISUG is flushed out with another injection that dissolves the gel.
Elaine Lissner, director of the nonprofit Male Contraception Information Project in San Francisco , says she is not surprised that American men are watching the RISUG trial with keen interest. She emphasizes that the method has the potential to be the first truly affordable, reversible, long-term male contraceptive…”
For the full story, see the EurekAlert press release.
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The work of the male contraceptive research community is covered by all kinds of press sources. Here is a summary of interesting headlines from the last month:
HealthWatch (30 March, NBC)
Resumption of the RISUG trial in NBC’s summary of clinical trial news. “Research is resuming on a potential new male contraceptive that uses an injectable gel to disable the potency of the male sperm.”
Societal shift in the role of fathers (21 March, Fox News)
Brief mention of new male contraceptive options within the context of the larger fathers’ rights movement. “Birth control advances have focused upon women even though effective male birth control is feasible.” Unfortunately the coverage contains some inaccuracies.
Male birth control in development (17 March, Oregon Daily Emerald)
University of Oregon student and faculty perspectives on the hurdles to the development of a hormonal male contraceptive.
Equal efforts in birth control (1 March, Minnesota Daily)
Opinion editorial: “Many men would welcome this burden in exchange for more reliable birth control and getting rid of that pesky latex…”
Birth control for men ‘possible’, unlikely (27 Feb, Agence France-Presse)
Carl Djerassi, a famous early developer of the Pill, asserts that “no pharmaceutical company is interested in developing a male pill”, despite the involvement of Schering, Organon, Wyeth and half a dozen other smaller pharmaceutical companies.
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Researchers in Britain have published a study of the long-term effects of a true male pill in mice. The drug is called Zavesca (its trade name), miglustat or NB-DNJ. Mice treated with low-dose Zavesca had reduced sperm counts and no sperm capable of swimming properly. The drug provided 100% effective contraception during the treatment period. The treatment lasted for 12 months; all mice had recovered completely 9 weeks after stopping the treatment. After recovery, these mice fathered normal litters of baby mice at the normal rate. The researchers found that “prolonged NB-DNJ intake did not affect reproductive hormone levels, serum [blood] biochemistry or animal behavior.” They conclude that Zavesca is now ready to be evaluated as a contraceptive in other species. A trial of miglustat in men is underway at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Read a summary of the researchers’ publication on the National Library of Medicine’s website.
Read more about the University of Washington’s clinical trial of this drug.
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Researchers recently received approval to enroll additional men in the Phase III clinical trials of the RISUG injectable contraceptive. If you are interested in this method, now is an ideal time to encourage this research! Here’s how:
1) Get up to date by reading the most recent news on RISUG.
2) Letters are more powerful than emails. Draft a letter describing your interest in RISUG to the government official who oversees RISUG’s funding:
Mr. P. K. Hota
Secretary to the Government of India
Ministry of Family Health and Welfare (FW)
Nirman Bhawan
New Delhi 110011
India
3) Here are some tips for composing your letter:
• Explain why RISUG sounds promising to you. This is a good place to mention what features of RISUG you like best, or disappointment you may have had with other forms of contraception.
• If you are unmarried, your message will be most effective if you focus on the advantages of the method, rather than your relationship situation. For example, “RISUG would allow me to delay having children until I finish my studies” will be more effective than “My girlfriend and I have had several condoms break.”
• As with most scientific research, RISUG development is on a tight budget. Ask the Secretary to make RISUG a funding priority. If the studies have enough funding to adhere to the US FDA’s Good Manufacturing and Laboratory Practice standards, this Indian innovation could be available in the US much sooner than otherwise.
• Regulations will probably prohibit opening the trial to non-local men. However, if you would travel to India to participate in the trial at your own expense should it open to non-local men, mention this.
• If you know others who think RISUG is a promising contraceptive, mention their interest.
• Summarize by letting the Secretary know that you are pleased that RISUG research is resuming, and that you look forward to worldwide availability of this product.
4) Put 84 cents of postage on it, and send it off!
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Editors
Kirsten Thompson, Director of the Male Contraceptive Coalition (MCC)
Email: info@MaleContraceptives.org
The Coalition’s objectives are to speed the development of new male contraceptives through increased legislative and institutional support, to raise funds for applied male contraception research and development, and to educate the public about the work of the research community.
Elaine Lissner, Director of the Male Contraception Information Project (MCIP)
Email: info@NewMaleContraception.org
MCIP is entirely nonprofit and works in three areas: raising public awareness of promising nonhormonal male contraceptives, advocating increased and expedited government research, and serving as a resource for journalists who wish to write about the subject.
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