A male birth control pill is on the horizon after researchers revealed this week that a once-daily medication has proven safe and effective in early trials. Currently known as DMAU (or dimethandrolone undecanoate), the pill works much like female birth control pills, delivery a daily dose of hormones that would render a man's sperm count low enough that he could not get a female partner pregnant.
"DMAU is a major step forward in the development of a once-daily 'male pill,'" says study senior investigator Stephanie Page. "Many men say they would prefer a daily pill as a reversible contraceptive, rather than long-acting injections or topical gels, which are also in development."