First hormone-free male birth control pills enter clinical trials

There are more than 20 FDA-approved ways to prevent pregnancy, but only two of them are designated specifically for men, leaving the responsibility largely on women

While no contraception method is 100% foolproof, men's two choices include vasectomies, which are most often permanent, or condoms

While condoms have a 99% effectiveness rate in clinical settings, when used in the real world, they're only effective about 87% of the time

But now a new drug for men is showing promise by moving on to clinical trials

The oral contraceptive, known as YCT-529, was developed in a joint effort between the University of Minnesota, Columbia University, and Your Choice Therapeutics

It's a hormone-free pill, which scientists say works by stopping sperm production, but does not affect testosterone levels, meaning libido is not impacted

The drug has already been tested in mice and was found to be 99% effective within four weeks of use

which is on par with the efficacy of female birth control pills

And in non-human primates, the drugs lowered sperm counts within two weeks of starting the drug

And both mice and non-human primates fully regained fertility a few weeks after stopping the drug

with no side effects reported. This is the only birth control pill researchers are testing in men

and experts hope it will become available this decade. To stay up to date on all the latest medical advances

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