Breaking down barriers to male contraception: Europe urged to invest in solutions
NGOs and experts warned that a lack of funding and a clear regulatory pathway is stalling innovation in male birth control options
Calls for urgent investment in male contraceptives took centre stage at a meeting in the European Parliament today (4 November) hosted by MEP Peter Liese (EPP, Germany) in partnership with Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) a private non-profit foundation focused on reproductive health, Better Birth Control e.V., and YourChoice Therapeutics.
“Men are ready,” said Peter Liese MEP, emphasizing that the lack of available options, not attitudes, is the barrier. “Europe must not fall behind in supporting safe, reversible, and accessible contraceptive choices for everyone.”
Limited options, growing demand
Speakers pointed to the fact that men currently have access to only two contraceptive options - condoms and vasectomy - while women shoulder the bulk of the responsibility for preventing unintended pregnancies. Globally, there are an estimated 121 million unintended pregnancies each year, representing roughly half of all pregnancies. The organizations argue that men should have greater choice and want to share responsibility in reproductive choices.
DSW estimate that in 2023, global funding for contraceptive and multipurpose prevention technologies reached just €125 million, the lowest level in five years. They say that no funding has come from the EU budget since 2021, even though European developers contribute to nearly one-fifth of the products in the global contraceptive research pipeline.
Breaking the innovation barrier
According to DSW and its partners, development is being held back by a “valley of death” in research and investment — the gap between early-stage public research and the costly later stages of clinical trials. Moreover, no clear regulatory guidelines from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for male contraceptives create additional uncertainty for innovators.
Chief Medical Officer at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Dr. Steffen Thirstrup said that EMA’s door was open, but that it had not issued guidelines because they had no insight into scientific and regulatory challenges and opportunities developers are facing. He said that putting a guideline in place risked stifling innovation by setting too high standards for acceptance, or putting public health at risk by setting standards too low.
Thirstrup said that despite reviewing requests for scientific advice over the last 23 years he had not had any interactions with EMA regarding male contraceptives, adding that there are currently no ongoing clinical trials in any EU country for an investigational product for male anticonception.
YourChoice Therapeutics, a biotechnology firm at the forefront of developing non-hormonal male contraceptive pills, has underscored the pressing need to address funding and regulatory challenges in the field. Chief Science Officer Nadja Mannowetz stated, “We’re on the cusp of major breakthroughs — but without predictable funding and clear regulatory pathways, progress will continue to stall.”
YourChoice is currently working on new drug called YCT-529, which is showing encouraging results. Unlike hormonal methods, YCT-529 works by blocking a receptor for retinoic acid, a form of vitamin A that is essential for sperm production. In animal studies, it caused a temporary, reversible drop in sperm count. Early human trials have found it to be safe and well tolerated, with no significant effects on hormones, heart rate, mood, or sexual desire.
Towards shared responsibility
The meeting concluded with a joint call for the EU and its member states to integrate contraceptive innovation into Horizon Europe and future research programmes, incentivize private investment, and develop harmonized guidelines for male non-hormonal contraceptive approval.