Interest in male birth control has increased in recent years, especially since the US overturned Roe v. Wade, which protected a woman’s right to have an abortion. Since then, states have tried to make abortion nearly impossible, prompting an increased look at contraceptives to allow both men and women more control over family planning. This discussion led to the topic of male birth control – something doctors haven’t quite mastered yet, perhaps.
Kevin Eisenfrats is its founder Contraline, a company that has developed a male contraceptive in the form of a non-hormonal gel that prevents sperm from being injected into the scrotum. Einsfrats discussed the creation of this company, the medical trials for it, and the medical innovation he had to create to make it all possible TechCrunch’s Found podcast.
“Believe it or not, people have actually been working on male contraceptives since the female contraceptive pill came out in 1960,” Einsfrats told Found. “So it’s not like this is a forgotten area of research. It’s just that science is really, really hard.”
Einsfrats was inspired to start his company after watching the MTV show “16 and Pregnant.” Years later, Contraline’s latest product, ADAM, is entering clinical trials in Australia, a country it says has so far been more receptive to the idea of male contraception. It plans to head to the US soon and is preparing for the long FDA approval process. So far, Einsfrats hasn’t had the hardest time raising funds – and he says there’s been a lot of support even because of the US political climate, saying the discussions have increased interest in his work.
“We’re attracting a certain type of investor who is really here for the long term,” he continued.
He also talked about the importance of hiring the right team when it comes to a product like this and broke down some of the challenges that come with being the founder of a medical startup. For him in particular, there were regulatory hurdles, fundraising and testing the medical case before he landed on the right one.
All the challenges have made him and his team stronger, he said, and hinted that one day he wants to expand into Europe and other markets. He also talked about possibly wanting to find ways to use his technology to develop non-hormonal female contraceptives, addressing other kinds of reproductive health issues that remain unsolved.
“We want to address these big unsolved reproductive health problems,” he said. “We’re willing to take that risk that others aren’t willing to take.”
