Men will soon have their own form of birth control. It is currently being developed as a contraceptive and is expected to be available as early as 2017.
The male birth control, known as Vasalgel, is a shot injected into the vas deferens, where the sperm swims through, blocks the sperm that try to enter the reproductive tube. According to Philly.com, it's a long-term birth control method but men can remove it when they no longer need it.
Vasalgel has been tested on 10-15 female baboons, and none of them got pregnant for the past six months. The trial is not yet over, but the researchers will release the final results by end of the year. The Parsemus Foundation, a nonprofit organization developing the contraceptive, plans to test it on humans by next year. If the test is successful, it will revolutionize birth control as men would no longer have to wear a condom and women can opt out of the pill, Medical Daily reported.
"We want to get Vasalgel on the market as soon as possible, but all the proper efficacy and safety testing needs to be completed," a spokesperson for Parsemus Foundation said in a statement.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unwanted pregnancies are decreasing from 48 percent in 2001 to 29 percent in 2009. About 98 percent of these are from teens below 15 years old.
The male condom is 98 percent effective when used properly. However, the condom method's failure rate is 18 percent with common use. Aside from avoiding unwanted pregnancies, condoms are the only contraceptive available that can help protect people from STDs and HIV. Vasalgel is 100 percent effective, based on the baboon trial rate. However, it does not secure someone from STDs and HIV, hence increasing one's risk of infection.
There is no market price released yet for the new contraceptive, but Daily Mail reported that it would cost "less than a flat screen TV." The developers are also seeking for public donations to fund the human trials.
