New development of male contraceptive, YCT-529 enters phase 1 clinical trial in the UK

CTOnews.com, December 16 (Xinhua)-- contraceptive, a man named YCT-529, entered a phase 1 clinical trial in the UK on December 13, an important development in the field of contraception.

The male contraceptive, created by YourChoice Therapeutics, invited 16 participants to test the safety, tolerance and oral dose function of the pill in a phase 1 clinical trial.

CTOnews.com Note: over the past few decades, women have borne most of the burden of contraception, from contraceptive to patches to intrauterine devices.

Male contraception mainly includes condom use and vasectomy, but because vasectomy is irreversible, male acceptance is low.

The contraceptive mechanism of YCT-529 relies mainly on retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR- α), and the researchers hope to induce long-lasting but reversible birth control by selectively blocking this protein, while causing almost no off-target effect elsewhere (that is, no interaction with targets other than drug design, that is, no side effects).

RAR- α partially blocks the production of vitamin A (which helps to produce and release sperm). In existing animal studies, a complete reversal has been observed 14 weeks after discontinuation, and such a long buffer period means that missing one or two pills does not pose a high risk of pregnancy.

The effective rate of YCT-529 in mice was 99%, and the reversibility was 100%.