At The Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA, we are testing a possible new method for male contraception. The medication is a transparent gel (applied daily to the skin of the man's shoulders) that is designed to temporarily stop the production of sperm.

The medication contains the hormones Nestorone® and Testosterone. These hormones suppress the production of sperm to prevent the possibility of fathering a child. Nestorone has been tested and shown to be safe and effective at blocking the production of the male hormones needed to make sperm. The testosterone in the gel works by replacing the testosterone that is normally produced by the body. 

The study gel is being developed by The Population Council, a non-profit dedicated to reproductive health, in collaboration with the National Institute of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

There will be no cost to you and your partner for the study medication, study doctor’s time, or procedures related to this study. Compensation for your time is provided.

Couples will meet with the research team at our clinic at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center to review the study protocol. Male participants receive a physical exam, medical history, urine, blood, and semen analysis. Female participants provide a medical history and take a pregnancy test. Once all the results are in, couples will be notified whether or not they have qualified for the study. Those who are eligible can then choose to enroll in the trial. 

Once the male's sperm count has suppressed to a low enough level, couples will be able to move to the efficacy stage. During this 12 month period, couples will stop using any birth control method or medications other than the NES/T gel. The male partner will continue to come to the clinic for monthly visits, and the female partner will need to come in once every 3 months during this stage. The research team will continue to monitor the male's sperm count to ensure it is staying at the appropriate level throughout this stage of the trial. 

During the Recovery Stage, the male partner will stop using the NES/T Gel and the couple will resume another birth control method of their choice. The male partner will continue to have monthly appointments until his sperm count returns to a normal level. This typically takes 3-4 months. Once the male's sperm count has return to a normal level couples can exit the trial.

We're looking for sexually active heterosexual couples in the Los Angles area to participate. Men and their female partners are both active participants in the study and must both consent. See below for the main criteria for both men and women.

Inclusion criteria for the male partner:

• In good health.
• 18 to 50 years old.
• In a stable, mutually monogamous relationship for at least 1 year.
• No know infertility. 

Inclusion criteria for the female partner:

• In good health.
• 18 to 34 years old.
• In a stable, mutually monogamous relationship for at least 1 year.
• Have regular menstrual cycles of 21-35 days when not on a hormonal contraceptive.
• No known infertility.

The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation is a 501(c)3 independent non-profit biomedical research organization that was founded in 1952. The Institute has over more than 120 principal investigators and 400 researchers in total — MD’s, MD/Ph.D.’s, and Ph.D.’s — working on over 1,000 research studies. We are academically affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and work in partnership with the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Our research is funded by many sources including grants from the NIH and other government entities, Industry and teaching contracts and royalties, as well as private donors and other non-profit foundations.

Dr. Christina Wang is an internationally recognized investigator in male reproductive medicine and biology, leading the efforts to develop a safe, effective, and reversible hormonal male contraceptive. She is a Professor of Medicine and Assistant Dean in Clinical and Translational Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She is the Associate Director of the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and a faculty member of the Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and The Lundquist Institute, Torrance, California.