Scientists edging closer to male contraceptive pill

Australian men could soon be able to buy their own version of the contraceptive pill, after Melbourne scientists made a major breakthrough.

Researchers from Monash University today revealed they have found a way to stop the release of sperm.

“The message from the brain to the muscle that moves sperm from where it’s normally stored to where it needs to be ejaculated … we’re interrupting that message and stopping that from occurring,” Dr Sab Ventura from the university told 9NEWS.

Previous trials on mice have proved successful, with human trials the next step.

Studies suggest there won’t be any impact on long-term fertility, and while there are already plenty of options available, scientists believe the new pill is required.

“In the last couple of years we have been having about 70-80 million unwanted pregnancies per year (worldwide), so even though there are a lot of contraception methods around, there’s obviously not enough to control that number,” Dr Ventura said.

He said the pill could be available in pharmacies within 10 years, but that timeframe is contingent on an increase in funding.

“If this was a pharmaceutical company they would probably have 20, 30, 50 people working on it and we’ve got enough to have one or two.

“If we could get to a stage where we have a lot of financial backing, it’s obviously going to go much faster.”