Male contraceptive: contraception gel acts faster than pill as study reveals quick sperm suppression options

New research has indicated that a male contraceptive takes effect sooner than similar methods for male birth control.

By blending two hormones, segesterone acetate (branded as Nestorone) and testosterone, this gel reduces sperm production at a faster rate compared to other experimental hormone-based contraceptive approaches, the study found.

As part of the study, participants applied the gel daily to each shoulder blade and underwent sperm count evaluations every four weeks. The benchmark considered effective for contraception was achieving one million or fewer sperm per millilitre of semen.

According to the findings, presented at ENDO 2024, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Boston, 86% of men in the study reached this sperm count by week 15. Among those men, sperm production was suppressed at an average time of less than eight weeks of treatment.

Researchers say that prior studies of male hormonal contraceptives given by injections showed an average time between nine and 15 weeks for sperm output to become suppressed.

Senior researcher Diana Blithe, chief of the contraceptive development program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, USA, said: “A more rapid time to suppression may increase the attractiveness and acceptability of this drug to potential users. The development of a safe, highly effective and reliably reversible contraceptive method for men is an unmet need.

“While studies have shown that some hormonal agents may be effective for male contraception, the slow onset of spermatogenic suppression is a limitation.”

The study included 222 men who completed at least three weeks of daily treatment with the contraceptive gel. The gel contained 8 milligrams (mg) of segesterone acetate and 74 mg of testosterone.

The sperm suppression stage of the study is complete, and researchers will now look at the contraceptive’s effectiveness, safety, acceptability and reversibility of contraception after treatment stops.