Male birth control is considered a controversial issue for lots of reasons. Schering, Wyeth, Organon and other large pharmaceutical companies used to be actively involved in the development of male birth control, but their efforts have been put on hold indefinitely. Why? The market seems to be little receptive to male birth control shots or pills, and the investments in technologies are huge. Several programs have been abandoned for this reason, and it seems that drug companies don’t show any renewal in their interest for this kind of birth control products.
Statistics show a certain willingness on the part of men to use alternative forms of birth control. Normally, male birth control should consist of some form of testosterone shot or pill that would impair the production of sperm. Women, however, have shown reluctance towards entrusting men with birth control treatments. For the moment, vasectomy is the only viable male birth control option, yet, few people are willing to try it. How would hormonal birth control work for men?
The sperm production can be inhibited by the administration of testosterone and progestin; this male birth control solution would be totally reversible with no impact on fertility. This is not possible with a pill because the testosterone would be too quickly broken down by the liver. Hormonal male birth control may be produced either as a monthly shot or as a topical product. Biannual implants could also be a solution, but the procedure required is considered too invasive.
Between 10% and 15% of men do not respond to hormonal male birth control, which is quite a high inefficiency rate. The issue is in the number of cells that need to be blocked. While with female hormonal treatments, the egg is the only cell that has to be blocked from ovulation, with male birth control, the treatment has to solve the issue of millions of spermatozoon. Race also seems to affect the efficiency of this birth control method although researchers don’t know why.
Last but not least, we should also briefly refer to condoms as the most commonly used form of male birth control. Couples successfully use condoms, and so do people who have occasional sex. It is the only birth control method without a direct impact on health.