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https://gizmodo.com/a-once-a-day-male-birth-control-pill-shows-promise-in-h-1823890390
One of the latest experimental candidates for a male birth control drug is a compound that would be taken much like the daily birth control pill available for women. A pilot study presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting suggests that the compound—called dimethandrolone undecanoate (DMAU)—can be safe and effective in human test subjects.
[...] DMAU is meant to act on the same receptors as testosterone and progestin. But it seems to be more easily absorbed by the body and longer-lasting. That theoretically means a single dose a day (when taken with food) should cause sterility without leading to other serious consequences, the authors say.
[...] The few side effects Page's team observed were weight gain and lowered levels of HDL cholesterol (the "good" kind). But they feel a tweaked dose could alleviate these symptoms. Importantly, the pill didn't seem to cause any other lasting symptoms of low testosterone. Eight men in the treatment group did report lower libido, but the effect faded away after treatment had ended.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 20 2018, @07:52PM
The reason this has failed in the past is that it's just more complicated than it is for women. Women have a cycle that repeats over of a period of roughly a month, interfering with that cycle in a way that prevents pregnancy was relatively straightforward compared to what's required for men.
In men, it's tricky because we're constantly producing new special men and those are the ones that get released. If the pill stops the production in the wrong way, it can lead to permanent sterility. It can also result in the same sorts of hormonal problems that birth control pills can have for women.
When all is said and done, this is a great step forward, but I personally wouldn't recommend any men use it that haven't already had the children they want, just in case the whole thing turns out to be more damaging that the research indicates.