Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jun:97:101281.
doi: 10.1016/j.mam.2024.101281. Epub 2024 May 27.

The uniqueness of on-demand male contraception

Natalia Del R Rivera Sanchez  1 , Carla Ritagliati  1 , Gregory S Kopf  2 , Steve Kretschmer  2 , Jochen Buck  3 , Lonny R Levin  1
Affiliations
Review

The uniqueness of on-demand male contraception

Natalia Del R Rivera Sanchez et al. Mol Aspects Med. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Because nearly half of pregnancies worldwide are unintended, available contraceptive methods are inadequate. Moreover, due to the striking imbalance between contraceptive options available for men compared to the myriad of options available to women, there is an urgent need for new methods of contraception for men. This review summarizes ongoing efforts to develop male contraceptives highlighting the unique aspects particular to on-demand male contraception, where a man takes a contraceptive only when and as often as needed.

Keywords: Nonhormonal male contraception; On-demand contraception; Soluble adenylyl cyclase.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest LRL and JB are co-inventors of a panel of in vivo, validated sAC inhibitors and are cofounders of Sacyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., which licensed the sAC inhibitors for development into on-demand male contraceptives. GSK and SK are employees of Sacyl Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which licensed the sAC inhibitors for development into on-demand male contraceptives.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:. Imbalance of family planning options for men versus women.
Blue: There are two male contraceptive methods currently available, condoms and surgical vasectomies. Pink: On the other hand, women have multiple hormonal and non-hormonal contraceptive options available. This imbalance means the responsibility of family planning lies predominantly with women.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:. Processes essential for male fertility.
Blue: Sperm production in the male. Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), released from neurons in the hypothalamus, stimulates pituitary-localized luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) release. LH promotes the proliferation and maturation of the testicular Leydig cells which secrete testosterone to initiate and maintain spermatogenesis. FSH acts on the Sertoli cells of the testicular seminiferous tubules to stimulate signaling molecules and metabolites required to support spermatogenesis. Spermatogenesis includes meiotic divisions and morphological maturation of germ cells into spermatozoa in the testis. Spermatozoa emerging from the testis continue to mature as they pass through the epididymis until they reach the cauda epididymis, where they are stored in a dormant state awaiting ejaculation. Pink: Sperm motility and capacitation in the female reproductive tract. Ejaculated sperm must be motile to traverse the female reproductive tract where they undergo capacitation, the final maturation process where they gain the ability to fertilize the oocyte.
Figure 3:
Figure 3:. Representative timelines for different pharmacological approaches to male contraception.
A. Pharmacological approaches blocking spermatogenesis require chronic dosing and include a lag period between onset of dosing and contraceptive efficacy as well as a lag between cessation of dosing and resumption of fertility. B. With on-demand contraception, acute-acting agents work within minutes with contraceptive efficacy persisting for hours, and these agents are taken only when, and as often as, needed. Periods of fertility are shown in red, and periods of contraceptive efficacy are shown in green.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Haimov-Kochman R, Sciaky-Tamir Y, and Hurwitz A (2005). Reproduction concepts and practices in ancient Egypt mirrored by modern medicine. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 123, 3–8. 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2005.03.022. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Youssef H (1993). The history of the condom. J R Soc Med 86, 226–228. 10.1177/014107689308600415. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amy JJ, and Thiery M (2015). The condom: A turbulent history. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care 20, 387–402. 10.3109/13625187.2015.1050716. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bearak J, Popinchalk A, Alkema L, and Sedgh G (2018). Global, regional, and subregional trends in unintended pregnancy and its outcomes from 1990 to 2014: estimates from a Bayesian hierarchical model. Lancet Glob Health 6, e380–e389. 10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30029-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bearak J, Popinchalk A, Ganatra B, Moller AB, Tuncalp O, Beavin C, Kwok L, and Alkema L (2020). Unintended pregnancy and abortion by income, region, and the legal status of abortion: estimates from a comprehensive model for 1990–2019. Lancet Glob Health 8, e1152–e1161. 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30315-6. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources