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I n late 2024, behind the white facade of New Zealand Clinical Research’s facilities, close to 50 men committed spermicide by test-driving YCT-529, a nonhormonal male contraceptive pill, the first of its kind, created by YourChoice Therapeutics. Meanwhile, in 17 sites spanning from Kansas to Kenya, 462 couples were finishing a trial of NES/T, a topical hormonal gel developed by Contraline. Now both firms are gearing up for more studies; the CEOs have said that the results, to be published this year, are encouraging. But new competitors are hot on their tails, ready to enter the Sperm Race.
The world is about to experience a seminal moment in the history of birth control. For the first time, pharmaceutical contraception for men seems viable. It’s urgently needed; the overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to “contraception deserts” in the United States. Men seem tentatively game; according to a study in the journal Andrology, 82 percent of American men would be willing to use male contraception. Tens of thousands have joined bulging waiting lists. But nailing the rollout of these prophylactics, in terms of regulatory approval and marketing, is a cluster headache.
Undoubtedly, the slow progress is partially due to scientific challenges. Women usually release one egg a month, but men, on average, produce100 million sperm in a single ejaculation. With just one pesky tadpole technically enough for conception, developing male contraception is a big ask. It’s like trying to stop every single Super Bowl viewer, assembled on a football field, from getting to the end zone.
Because of that scale, the solutions on trial make use of clever biochemical mechanisms. YCT-529 blocks vitamin A from being used by the testes to produce sperm; NES/T contains a progestin that stops testosterone production. ADAM, a long-lasting hydrogel injection also from Contraline, creates a liquid barrier to block sperm from traveling through the vas deferens.
But the holdup isn’t just due to the science. Since contraception for women first went mainstream in the 1960s, there’s been a toxic assumption that women should bear the burden—something that Billie JD Porter, journalist and director of the new documentary It’s Different for Girls, has long lamented. “It was just another instance of misogyny and corporate greed overlooking the comfort and health of women,” she says.
Momentum was stalled by Big Pharma’s disinterest. “Companies withdrew from contraceptive development almost entirely by the mid-2000s, having decided the market wasn’t worth the regulatory and financial risk,” says Frances Yarlett, a general practitioner and medical director of the Lowdown, an online contraceptive resource. “Research funding has reflected a long-standing assumption that contraception is a female health issue. The result is a feedback loop: no investment, no products, no proof of demand, no investment.”
Some men are already contraceptive-pilled. Eliott Murbach-Studer, a 26-year-old biotechnician in Paris, is ready for male birth control. “I want to have this responsibility to ease the life of my partner,” he says. Last year, he emailed YourChoice Therapeutics, asking to join a phase 3 trial of YCT-529. There are many altruistic stories, likely to be met with performative male memes and some skepticism. But male contraception is not a selfless act; it could give men agency and security without sacrificing sensation by wrapping your dick in a balloon. “You have more pleasure when you can directly feel the other person,” Murbach-Studer says.
Not all men might be as keen. With 30 percent of men under 30 reporting no sex in the last year, is demand lower than ever? There’s concern that the manosphere, behind the rise of testosterone-maxxing and sperm-maxxing, could stunt growth of demand. Most of these contraceptive methods, after all, minimize sperm. NES/T gets around T-maxxing by including testosterone to top it back up, a bit like a probiotic soda, but for your dick. And remember, YCT-529 is nonhormonal.
Then there’s the question of whether men can hack it. Studies suggest most women trust their partners to use contraception regularly. But a World Health Organization trial of a hormonal male contraceptive injection was notably halted in 2016 after men reported side effects like mood changes and acne. Porter is concerned that the bar might be too high for the modern man: “My fear is … they won’t be able to tolerate any side effects.”
That we’re even considering the future of male contraception shows there’s real hope. Big Pharma, Porter says, is keeping tabs: “I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re seeing the tides change and then suddenly swoop in.” Kevin Eisenfrats, CEO of Contraline, sees an opportunity: “I think the male contraception market can be $10 to $20 billion pretty easily in the United States alone.”
For men like Murbach-Studer, there’s still a way to go. NES/T, ready for phase 3 trials, will likely win the Sperm Race but won’t hit the market within five years. For now, men wanting to take on the burden will have to block their 100 million sperm per round with old-fashioned methods.