A contraceptive pill designed for men has just proved to be a whopping 100% successful and effective in mice trials, getting us closer to the pharmaceutical becoming a reality. 

The drug reportedly inactivates an enzyme called soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC), which allows the mice to still produce sperm. 

However, the sperm were rendered incapacitated as it was unable to propel itself forward and thus could not locate any eggs during reproduction.

The study, published on the 14th of February 2023 by Nature Communications research journal, showed that once injected into male mice, the contraceptive was 100% effective in preventing pregnancy for two and a half hours after it was applied.

Success dropped to around 91% after around 3 and a half hours, with the mice returning to full fertility the next day. 

It is unclear whether the drug would offer protection to users or their partners from sexually transmitted infections. The drug also needs to get over another hurdle, namely the differences between mouse and human reproduction which, the study says, lays in the female anatomy. 

“In mice, there is no physical barrier between the vagina and uterus, and semen deposited in the vagina advances unimpeded into the uterus. In humans, ejaculated sperm must be motile to cross the cervix to escape the normally inhospitable environment of the vagina and enter the permissive environment of the uterus. Once sperm cross the cervix, they can persist for days, allowing human conception to occur days following copulation” reads the study. 

However, this phase of trials means that the contraceptive can move forward to more elaborate testing so that, one day, it may become another pharmaceutical on the market. 

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Read the full study here.