Male birth control pill may soon be a reality, researchers say

Researchers say a new birth control pill for men appears to be safe, effective and may soon become a reality.

It's called dimethandrolone undecanoate, or DMAU and would be taken daily just like the female pill.

The study's senior investigator, Stephanie Page, M.D., PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Washington is calling it a major step forward in the development of a once-daily "male pill."

What about side effects? "Despite having low levels of circulating testosterone, very few subjects reported symptoms consistent with testosterone deficiency or excess," Page said.

Researchers say longer term studies are currently underway to confirm that the pill can block sperm production so a man cannot get his partner pregnant.

The study included 100 healthy men, ages 18 to 50 years old, and took place at the University of Washington Medical Center and at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California.

DMAU is being developed by the National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which funded this study.

Click here to read more about the study.