ABSTRACT
The development of a range of effective methods of contraception is an essential element of reproductive health. Female-dependent methods have been the subject of considerable scientific advance as a result of advances in steroid chemistry in the past half century and the development of effective and autonomous contraception, but there has been an emerging emphasis that men should be more involved in family planning. 1 The supremacy of modern, female methods in the developed world obscures the fact that one-third of all couples worldwide rely on a male-dependent method of contraception, mostly the condom or withdrawal, methods that have been used for millennia with only minimal development in recent years. While the development of new effective methods of male contraception has been identified as a high priority by international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), 2,3 and there are both hormonal and non-hormonal methods in advanced clinical trials, the limited involvement of the pharmaceutical industry in this research suggests caution in prophesying the availability of new products in the near future.
