Male Contraceptive Development: Update on Novel Hormonal and Nonhormonal Methods

The unintended pregnancy rate in the United States is approximately 45% despite of variety of contraceptive options available to women.  Today, male condoms and withdrawal are the only reversible contraceptive methods available to men with typical failure rates between 10% and 20%.  But what about a male contraceptive pill?  Studies indicate that more than half of men would be interested in using a reversible method if it was available.  And many women would be willing to rely on their partner to use such a contraceptive.  Unplanned pregnancy rates could improve if both partners use a contraceptive method or if men had more options to control their own fertility. The January 2019 issue of Clinical Chemistry is devoted to topics of men’s health.  And in that issue, an article examined developments in male contraceptives with an update on both novel hormonal and non-hormonal methods.