A PILL for men could be closer — offering hope of new birth control options.
A non-hormonal drug was 99 per cent effective in preventing pregnancy in lab tests on mice.
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It targets a gene that produces retinoic acid — a form of vitamin A that fuels sperm development.
Human trials may start by the end of the year.
Most such drugs undergoing trials target the male sex hormone testosterone, which can lead to obesity and depression.
Lead author Abdullah Al Noman, of Minnesota University, US, said: “We wanted to develop a non-hormonal contraceptive to avoid these side-effects.”
At present, there are only two forms of contraception for men — condoms and vasectomies.
Condoms can only be used once and are not guaranteed to prevent impregnation.
Vasectomies are a form of surgical sterilisation that is expensive to reverse and is not always successful.