University of Minnesota Awarded $6.5m for Male Contraceptive Discovery Effort
The University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy has been awarded a 6.5 million USD contract to continue its efforts in contraceptive drug discovery, including looking for male birth control. The grant has been awarded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) as a part of their Contraceptive Development Program (CDP).
Funding will go to Minnesota’s Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development (ITDD) in their Chemical Synthesis Facility (CSF) which will support therapeutic discovery efforts.
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The award’s principal investigator is Vadim J. Gurvich, Associate Director of the ITDD, who said: “This award is more evidence of the critical role that the ITDD team has been playing in the field of contraceptive development, and drug discovery and development in general.”
Gurvich said that the ITDD will support the CDP program and will be in close collaboration with colleagues at the NICHD.
Founding Director of the ITDD and Regents Professor at U of M, Gunda I. Georg, said, “the world is ready for a male contraceptive agent, and we are happy to help make this a reality by working with the NICHD.”
In March 2022, Georg’s research team presented research findings from mouse models of a non-hormonal male birth control pill which made headlines. The study reported a 99% success rate in preventing the pregnancies of mice.
The compound targets the protein retinoic acid receptor alpha, or RAR-?, which is involved in cell proliferation and sperm production.
Research from The Male Contraceptive Initiative suggests that the majority of men are open to the development of a male birth control pill, with 70% of 18- to 44-year-old U.S. men “very or somewhat interested in new male contraception.” Despite this, there are only two birth control options for men: condoms or vasectomy.
"Scientists have been trying for decades to develop an effective male oral contraceptive," Abdullah Al Noman, a graduate scientist on Georg’s team, told The Hill in March.
Concerns over a male hormonal birth control’s side effects have halted studies in the past. Many point to the frequency and similarity of side effects associated with female oral contraception in response to this.
“We wanted to develop a non-hormonal male contraceptive to avoid these side effects,” said Noman.
Since the 2022 overturning of landmark Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, access to contraceptives in cheap, safe, and easy forms has become an emanant and contentious topic.
The hope is that by having more contraceptive options available to men, there may be a reduction in unwanted pregnancies.
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