And for couples who do not want to have children, something revolutionary is coming, a male contraceptive pill that does not lower testosterone or alter libido, that is the promise of YCT-529 that has just crossed a milestone.

In phase one in humans , single dose, double blind and placebo, 16 volunteers aged 32 to 59 years received 10 mg to 180 mg and were monitored for 14 days, resulting in no serious adverse events, stable hormones, unchanged libido, no relevant changes in inflammatory markers, mood, blood chemistry.

According to the study data, the kinetic drugs show that the half-life is 51 to 76 hours, they suggest a regimen every 3 days and the next 28 or 90 day studies pointed to what matters, a sustained drop in sperm count, the difference is in the mechanism, instead of using hormones, YCT-529 blocks the alpha retinoic acid receptor, part of the vitamin A pathway, essential for spermatogenesis.

By inhibiting it, sperm maturation is interrupted without disordering the hormonal axis and other functions of vitamin A in the body. In mice and primates, the effect was reversible, fertility returned in 6 to 12 weeks in rodents and in about 3 months in monkeys after stopping treatment without signs of hormonal collapse.

And why does this matter now? 'Because the conversation about contraception has always fallen more on the side with the uterus and with real side effects for many people, an oral, non-hormonal option can redistribute the responsibility without adding new risks.'

Let us remember that it is still the first stage in humans, a small sample and a single dose, it has not yet proven contraceptive efficacy, it remains to be demonstrated how much and how quickly the sperm count drops in continuous use, to check long-term effects and to pass the regulatory stages. That said, the path is backward.

If the 28- and 90-day studies confirm efficacy and safety, you can imagine this pill still arriving in this decade.