New Male Birth Control Pill Effectively Prevents Pregnancy – Without Side Effects

Researchers have developed a non-hormonal male contraceptive, YCT529, which effectively and reversibly prevents conception in mice without side effects. The contraceptive targets a specific protein involved in sperm formation. Human trials are planned for late 2022.

Women have a variety of birth control options, ranging from pills to patches to intrauterine implants, and they carry the brunt of the responsibility for avoiding conception. However, men’s birth control choices — and hence responsibilities — may be growing shortly. Scientists have developed a non-hormonal male contraception that efficiently prevents conception in mice while having no noticeable adverse effects.

The researchers presented their findings at the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) spring conference this week. ACS Spring 2022 was a hybrid conference that took place March 20-24, both remotely and in-person, with on-demand access accessible from March 21 through April 8. More than 12,000 presentations on a broad variety of scientific subjects were featured during the gathering.

Male condoms and vasectomy are currently the only two effective birth control options available to men. However, condoms are only good for one use and are prone to failure. A vasectomy, on the other hand, is a surgical treatment that is considered a permanent method of male sterilization. Although vasectomies may be reversed in rare cases, the procedure is costly and not always effective. As a result, males need a contraceptive that is effective, long-lasting, and reversible, comparable to the birth control pill for women.

“Scientists have been trying for decades to develop an effective male oral contraceptive, but there are still no approved pills on the market,” says Md Abdullah Al Noman, who is presenting the work at the meeting. Most compounds currently undergoing clinical trials target the male sex hormone testosterone, which could lead to side effects such as weight gain, depression, and increased low-density lipoprotein (known as LDL) cholesterol levels. “We wanted to develop a non-hormonal male contraceptive to avoid these side effects,” says Noman, a graduate student in the lab of Gunda Georg, Ph.D., at the University of Minnesota.

Targeting RAR-α: A Breakthrough in Male Contraception

To develop their non-hormonal male contraceptive, the researchers targeted a protein called the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-a). This protein is one of a family of three nuclear receptors that bind retinoic acid, a form of vitamin A that plays important roles in cell growth, differentiation (including sperm formation), and embryonic development. Knocking out the RAR-a gene in male mice makes them sterile, without any obvious side effects. Other scientists have developed an oral compound that inhibits all three members of the RAR family (RAR-a, -ß, and -γ) and causes reversible sterility in male mice, but Georg’s team and their reproductive biology collaborators wanted to find a drug that was specific for RAR-a and therefore less likely to cause side effects.

So the researchers closely examined crystal structures of RAR-a, -ß, and -γ bound to retinoic acid, identifying structural differences in the ways the three receptors bind to their common ligand. With this information, they designed and synthesized approximately 100 compounds and evaluated their ability to selectively inhibit RAR-a in cells. They identified a compound, which was named YCT529, that inhibited RAR-a almost 500 times more potently than it did RAR-ß and -γ. When given orally to male mice for 4 weeks, YCT529 dramatically reduced sperm counts and was 99% effective in preventing pregnancy, without any observable side effects. The mice could father pups again 4-6 weeks after they stopped receiving the compound.

YCT529: Promising Results and Future Testing

According to Georg, YCT529 will begin testing in human clinical trials in the third or fourth quarter of 2022. “Because it can be difficult to predict if a compound that looks good in animal studies will also pan out in human trials, we’re currently exploring other compounds, as well,” she says. To identify these next-generation compounds, the researchers are both modifying the existing compound and testing new structural scaffolds. They hope that their efforts will finally bring the elusive oral male contraceptive to fruition.

The researchers acknowledge support and funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Male Contraceptive Initiative. Georg is a consultant with YourChoice Therapeutics.

Title

Development of selective RARa antagonists as male contraceptive agents

Abstract

The quest for an effective male contraceptive agent has begun decades ago with no approved pills to date. Compounds undergoing clinical trials are all targeted on male sex hormone testosterone which could lead to hormonal side effects such as weight gain, depression, increased low-density lipoproteins, etc. Our effort focused on developing a non-hormonal male contraceptive to avoid the hormonal side effects. Vitamin A has long been known to be essential for male fertility and vitamin-A-deficient diet causes mammalian male sterility. One particular receptor of vitamin A metabolite retinoic acid (RARa) is validated as the target for male contraception by gene knockout studies. Also, oral administration of pan-RAR antagonist BMS-189453 which inhibits the activity of RAR a, ß, and γ lead to reversible sterility in male mice. Knocking out RAR alpha and treatment with a pan-RAR antagonist did not present any significant side effects in mice. We pursued to develop a selective RARa antagonist as a safe, effective, and reversible male contraceptive agent with no off-target effects on RARß and RARγ. Based on the published crystal structures of RARa-ligand complex as well as structures elucidated by us, we envisioned to exploit the structural differences between RARa, ß, and γ ligand-binding domain to achieve RARa selectivity. Also, the structural differences between RARa bound to the agonist and the antagonist facilitated the design of full antagonists. Aided by all the structural information, we designed and synthesized about 100 compounds and evaluated RARa antagonist activity and selectivity using a luciferase-reporter cell assay. We obtained several antagonists with single-digit nanomolar IC₅₀ values for RARa with excellent selectivity over RARß and RARγ. One RARa-selective antagonist showed good oral bioavailability and desired pharmacokinetic properties in mice, and upon oral administration, it showed complete inhibition of embryo formation in mating studies. Modification of active compounds is ongoing to obtain additional potent and selective inhibitors with good pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties.

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