For men who don’t want children right now, vasectomy may not be the only choice anymore.
Kevin Eisenfrats, a 2015 graduate of the University of Virginia, has developed a revolutionary birth control option for men with the help of his male contraceptive company Contraline. While the procedure is currently in the research phase, Eisenfrats promised Cosmopolitan that it would be on the market within five years.
The product is called “Echo-V,” Nickolaus Hines of Inverse wrote back in April, and it's supposed to be “similar to an intrauterine device (IUD), but for men.”
Like its direct competitor, Vasalgel, Echo-V works by blocking sperm at its source, rather than killing it, according to Cosmopolitan. The medication is injected into the vas deferens, the sperm-transporting tubes in the testes, and then it hardens as a gel to block sperm from getting through. Later, Inverse reports, if the man wants to reverse the procedure, a counter-injection can be administered.
This seems like a great alternative to vasectomy, as it is both painless (with the help of local anesthetic) and completely non-surgical. Echo-V is safer, less permanent, and likely cheaper than a vasectomy would be, as Einsenfrats is determined to have the procedure covered by most insurance companies.
As for when the product will be available nationwide, Einsenfrats told Cosmopolitan that his “goal is to be at the FDA's doorstep in January or February of 2017, [but] I'm going to give you the conservative estimate, so you can come back and make sure I held my word: We plan on having Echo-V on the market in five years.”
Sounds like it will be worth the wait!