The oral contraceptive has been called 11-beta-MNTDC or 11-beta-methyl-19-nortestosterone dodecylcarbonate. The drug is a testosterone which has been modified to perform the actions of both androgen, the male hormone and a progesterone, as per Christina Wang, M.D., the Associate Director of Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Los Angeles Biomed Research Institute (LA BioMed), Torrance, Calif.
According to Wang, due to the combination of both the hormonal activities, there will be a decrease in sperm production and hence, a lowering of libido.
The study was funded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The study was done on 40 men at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash and at LA BioMed. Ten of the study participants took placebo capsules. The other took 11-beta-MNTDC: 14 men took about 200mg, and sixteen men took about 400mg. The placebo drug was taken one with food for about 28 days.
The men who received the 11-beta-MNTDC, the testosterone level dropped as low as it drops in androgen deficiency, and the participants did not really suffer from any side effects. According to Wang, the side effects are mild and few – which includes acne, headache and fatigue. About five men claimed that their sexual drive lowered a little, and only two men claimed to have a mild erectile dysfunction though no change in the sexual drive was noted. As the participants did not stop taking the drugs even after having the mild side effects, they passed the safety test.
Low testosterone has minimal side effects according to Stephanie Page, M.D. According to her, 11-beta-MNTDC tries to mimic testosterone production in the entire body but does not concentrate on the testes, thereby lowering sperm production.
When the test results were compared to the placebo drug, it showed that there was a significant drop in sperm production. Plus, the effect reversed back to normalcy after the drug was stopped.
However, according to Wang, the drug is supposed to take about three 60 to 90 days course to bring in any change in sperm production. A 28-day trial is too small a period to yield proper results. Longer studies are being considered. There are plans to test it on sexually active groups too.
If everything goes well, it might be available within a decade.