$8.2M grant boosts on-demand male contraceptive pill development

Weill Cornell Medicine received a four-year, $8.2 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to develop and test an experimental on-demand male contraceptive pill that temporarily immobilizes sperm. The project, led by Drs. Jochen Buck and Lonny Levin, aims to address the global need for male contraceptive options beyond condoms and vasectomies. The pill would be taken 30 minutes before sex, providing a six-to-eight-hour window of protection with fertility returning to normal afterward. This grant funds toxicology and safety studies needed for a phase 1 placebo-controlled trial in healthy men, which will monitor side effects and test sperm motility. The researchers previously published proof-of-concept studies in 2023 and co-founded Sacyl Pharmaceuticals to advance the drug toward FDA approval.