A Gel Injected Into the Scrotum Could Be the Next Male Contraceptive
www.wired.com
Biotech company Contraline has safely implanted a sperm-blocking hydrogel in 23 men. It’s designed to be a fully reversible vasectomy.

A gel injected into the scrotum could be the next male contraceptive::Biotech company Contraline has safely implanted a sperm-blocking hydrogel in 23 men. It’s designed to be a fully reversible vasectomy.

  • KinNectar@kbin.run
    811·
    11 months ago

    Vaselgel is too cheap to manufacture to get the funding it needs to bring it to market, that’s why they have been trying for 20 years and haven’t succeeded yet. In the US the rights are owned by a non profit Parsemu Foundation formed to fund it. It looks like their private partner NEXT Life Sciences is actually set to come to market with a vaselgel product in 2026 they are calling Plan A.

    https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/next-life-sciences-announces-launch-of-plan-a-birth-control-for-men-301779007.html

    Interesting marketing choice comparing it to the Plan B pill.

      • Willy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        121·
        11 months ago

        I think that was always the point of the name. this would just be a new plan A.

      • banneryear1868@lemmy.worldEnglish
        211·
        11 months ago

        I thought they were implying something misogynist about women’s ability to plan and how the women’s plan will be considered only if the man’s fails first. Maybe that’s the way to get sex ed to where it’s needed though, “the first anti-woke birth control, putting the control back where it should be.” Wouldn’t be surprised in today’s America. /s

    • flamingarms@feddit.ukEnglish
      9·
      11 months ago

      From what I’m reading, they’re not set to go to market; that’s just their goal. Most recent article I found was middle of last year that they had raised more money and were hoping to go to human trials by the end of the year. That aligns with what I remember about Vasalgel from years ago - they had finally made it to monkey trials but their monkey study was not showing a consistent ability to return to virility with the second injection. I seem to remember the proposed reason being that vas deferens in the monkeys/apes they were testing with are actually more delicate than humans’ and so humans should still likely be reversible. Last I heard, I believe they were trying to move forward on the human trial of proving that it works as a contraceptive, to be followed by a human trial showing reversibility. Then radio silence and funding issues. My assumption has always been that they struggled to jump to human trials because of the primate study results hurting the likelihood of reversibility. Hopefully they have reworked it to solve that, or maybe the acquisition and new funding is enough to just push through that regardless and see if humans will be fine.