WEBVTT - Summer Series: Why doesn’t a male contraceptive pill exist?

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda

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<v Speaker 1>Bunjelung Calcottin woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily oz acknowledges

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<v Speaker 1>that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the

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<v Speaker 1>Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres

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<v Speaker 1>Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the

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<v Speaker 1>first peoples of these countries, both past and present.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello and welcome to the Daily os. It's Sam. Welcome

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<v Speaker 2>to tda's summer series. I hope you're having a nice

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<v Speaker 2>couple of weeks over summer, whether you're working, taking some

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<v Speaker 2>time off, headed to a music festival, or just you know,

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<v Speaker 2>hanging out with family and friends. This week, we're going

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<v Speaker 2>to share more of our favorite deep dives from twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty three, from some of our most popular interviews to

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<v Speaker 2>some stories you might have missed. I guess we're trying

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<v Speaker 2>to keep your company here over the summer. We'll be

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<v Speaker 2>back to some regular programming next week. Until then, here

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<v Speaker 2>is our summer series. The oral contraceptive pill was first

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<v Speaker 2>introduced in May of nineteen fifty, although it was only

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<v Speaker 2>available in Australia from nineteen sixty one. And that was

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<v Speaker 2>only to married women. We're now sixty two years later,

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<v Speaker 2>and while female contraceptives have become more varied and more accessible,

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<v Speaker 2>there's still no oral contraception option for men. But a

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<v Speaker 2>successful trial in mice means that could change.

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<v Speaker 3>Where are things at in terms of male contraception generally,

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<v Speaker 3>I feel like it's not something we hear about very

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<v Speaker 3>often at all.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, put it this way, of all the contraceptives currently

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<v Speaker 2>in existence, only two of male use, and we're talking

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<v Speaker 2>there about vasectomes and condoms.

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<v Speaker 4>That doesn't surprise me. There have been clinical.

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<v Speaker 2>Trials of hormonal contraceptive pills with around a ninety four

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<v Speaker 2>percent success rate, but some of those trials have been

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<v Speaker 2>abandoned because men were experiencing adverse side effects. We're talking

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<v Speaker 2>about things like acne, mood swings, or depression.

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<v Speaker 3>If only this was filmed and you could see my

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<v Speaker 3>reaction there, and I'm sure the reaction of any other

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<v Speaker 3>woman listening to this who has experienced the fun of

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<v Speaker 3>being on a constiou st pill. It seems like that

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<v Speaker 3>is something that is just by and by of being

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<v Speaker 3>on the pill. Why did they stop those clinical trials

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<v Speaker 3>for men experiencing those very same things.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think you're right, but the side effects argument

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<v Speaker 2>has come up again and again. For example, in twenty sixteen,

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<v Speaker 2>there was a lot of coverage about the fact that

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<v Speaker 2>a trial of a male hormonal contraception, which had been

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<v Speaker 2>commissioned by the World Health Organization was dropped because of

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<v Speaker 2>side effects. Fifty percent of people experienced acne, many experienced

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<v Speaker 2>some emotional disorders, thirty eight percent experienced and increased libido.

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<v Speaker 2>But you're right. You only have to read the information

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<v Speaker 2>sheet that comes with female hormonal contraceptives.

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<v Speaker 4>It's long, Well, it's very long. It's like a full

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<v Speaker 4>on document.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and there's a litany of warnings things like acne

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<v Speaker 2>and mood swings. Sure, the same as the male side effects,

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<v Speaker 2>but also for an increased risk of blood clots, deposed

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<v Speaker 2>blood clots.

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<v Speaker 3>When we were all talking about a possible harm caused

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<v Speaker 3>by the astrosenica vaccine and the government was announcing who

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<v Speaker 3>could get and who could have, I think there were

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of women who were looking at that and

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<v Speaker 3>just acknowledging the fact that the oral contraceptive also carries

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<v Speaker 3>risks for blood clotting. But that's just part of the

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<v Speaker 3>risk that we accept it's not wanting to have children.

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<v Speaker 2>It's part of the booklet. And that's all to say

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<v Speaker 2>that hormonal birth control is definitely not perfect for men

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<v Speaker 2>or for women.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not, and there is a lot of variation out

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<v Speaker 3>there for women, especially in what they can access for

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<v Speaker 3>birth control. There's non hormonal forms of female birth control

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<v Speaker 3>things like some IUDs. I'm not saying they're perfect either,

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<v Speaker 3>but there actually are options for what women can access today,

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<v Speaker 3>unlike men exactly.

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<v Speaker 4>And that's why this team of scientists have worked to

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<v Speaker 4>develop an on demand non hormonal birth control for men. Okay, wait,

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<v Speaker 4>take me through what that means.

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<v Speaker 2>So first I need to point out that this has

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<v Speaker 2>been really successful with mice, but it hasn't been tested

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<v Speaker 2>on humans yet, so there is a long way to

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<v Speaker 2>go and have that as the big grain of salt

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<v Speaker 2>that you listen to all of this, but I'll explain

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<v Speaker 2>how it works. One of the challenges with developing new

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<v Speaker 2>contraceptives for men is that after puberty, a man produces

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<v Speaker 2>about a thousand sperm a second, and that is a

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<v Speaker 2>lot to stop from reaching fertilization. This new contraception, instead

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<v Speaker 2>of trying to reduce sperm production, basically stops the sperm

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<v Speaker 2>from swimming. Now, in mammals, sperm is stored in a

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<v Speaker 2>dormant state, but during ejaculation, an enzyme is stimulated. It's

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<v Speaker 2>got a long name, so we're just going to call

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<v Speaker 2>it sac. And the scientists realize that this enzyme was

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<v Speaker 2>a key part of fertilization, so they identified a potential

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<v Speaker 2>inhibitor of that enzyme and went on to give that

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<v Speaker 2>inhibitor to male mice. They found that it rapidly and

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<v Speaker 2>temporarily renders mice infertile. Do you want to see a

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<v Speaker 2>video of what it looks like.

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<v Speaker 4>A choice here?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I'm seeing a sperm swimming real quick, Michael Phelps

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<v Speaker 3>a sperm.

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<v Speaker 2>So on the left side of the video is sperm

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<v Speaker 2>as it usually is, which is doing the worm.

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<v Speaker 4>It's just faced. Go on for gold, and then on

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<v Speaker 4>the right it's finished. Yes. On the right is what

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<v Speaker 4>happens when the sperm has an inhibitor. Okay, so it's

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<v Speaker 4>a very subdued sperm, very chilled out sperm.

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<v Speaker 2>So basically the scientists are saying that they could potentially

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<v Speaker 2>take that inhibitor to make an oral contraceptive pill that

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<v Speaker 2>could be taken just before sex. And would prevent pregnancy

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<v Speaker 2>for a short time. That's why we're calling it an

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<v Speaker 2>on demand contraception.

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<v Speaker 4>We'll be back right after this.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, So you're saying that this contraception has worked well

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<v Speaker 3>in mice, but I know you said it's still a

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<v Speaker 3>while off until it's available. Do we have any indication

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<v Speaker 3>yet about whether this will actually be successful in humans.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, the next episode tests it on rabbits before we

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<v Speaker 2>get to humans, and researchers say they are optimistic. They

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<v Speaker 2>actually say the human reproductive systems are even more suitable

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<v Speaker 2>for this type of drug than mice. And the reason

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<v Speaker 2>there is that female mice don't have a cervix like

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<v Speaker 2>humans to provide a barrier between the vagina and uterus. Basically,

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<v Speaker 2>in short, mice have less barriers on the way to

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<v Speaker 2>the journey of fertilization. So if this new drug does

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<v Speaker 2>work in mice, it's pretty good signs for human effectiveness.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, So my natural next question, Sam, would you take

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<v Speaker 3>it absolutely?

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<v Speaker 4>I think that I've actually said this on the public

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<v Speaker 4>record before I'll search it and try to find it.

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<v Speaker 2>That I would have no problem. And I think that

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<v Speaker 2>there is a changing attitude amongst young men what do

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<v Speaker 2>you think your friends would do? I think they would

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<v Speaker 2>all take it.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, friends of Sam right into us, even if you're

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<v Speaker 3>not Sam's friends.

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<v Speaker 4>We'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 3>We're doing a poll at the moment to understand what

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<v Speaker 3>sentiments in our audience are about this issue, and we'd

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<v Speaker 3>love to hear from you. There is a link in

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<v Speaker 3>the show notes if you want to go fill it out.

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<v Speaker 3>It'll take you thirty seconds. And I think it's a

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<v Speaker 3>really interesting topic.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm having a look at some of the results now.

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<v Speaker 2>I feel like I'm calling an election, Zara, but I

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<v Speaker 2>am seeing an early trend towards a yes vote for

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<v Speaker 2>the question of would you trust a male contraceptive pill

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<v Speaker 2>if scientists confirmed its safety and effectiveness. The pole still open,

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<v Speaker 2>so if you're listening, have a vote and we'll check

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<v Speaker 2>in with the results tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 4>Thanks for joining us on the daily OS.

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<v Speaker 3>We'd love if you could give us a rating or

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<v Speaker 3>helps new people find us and join the TDA community.

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<v Speaker 4>Have a great day,