14th Apr 2008 New developments in male contraceptive

Researchers from Australia claim to have developed a contraception injection for men that has proved to be as effective as birth control pills for women.

The hormonal injection, given four times a year, has been found reliable for up to 95% of men, but pharmaceutical companies are reported to be showing little interest in bringing the product to market.

The jab works by temporarily suppressing sperm output. It’s a combination of androgen and progestin – mainly testosterone.

The researchers, from the ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney and Concord Hospital studied the effect of the jab on 1756 men aged 18 to 51.

The co-author of the study, Associate Professor Peter Liu, expressed his disappointment that the pharmaceutical companies had pulled out of the project to develop a commercially available version.

"I think there's a real need for it because I see a lot of couples where a female doesn't want to use or is intolerant to a female contraceptive pill or males who want to delay vasectomy" Professor Liu said.

"There are also couples who say it's not fair, why should (birth control) be up to the female? I hear that from both partners."