Indian male contraceptive injections ready for market:-
Kolkata | March 03, 2005 4:14:50 PM IST

Kolkata, March 3 : After years of dillydallying and crossing bureaucratic hurdles, an Indian male injectable contraceptive that can be reversed is ready to be marketed.

Called RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance), the drug would be manufactured by a Danish company and would hit the market by the year-end.

Indian health scientist Sujoy Kumar Guha developed the male contraception injection that could remain effective for up to 10 years after single use.
The contraceptive, which has been patented in several countries, including the US, could even be retrieved from the body.

According to Guha, a biomedical engineer with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, the cost of a single injection would be around Rs.200. It would sell for more in foreign countries.

The "indigenously developed non-hormonal polymer based injectable male contraceptive", works as an assassin-molecule.

RISUG is injected through special syringes into the vas deferens. The drug kills by messing up the electrical charge of the sperm's head, which ruptures, forcing out enzymes.

"The contraceptive leaves sexual pleasure and performance unaffected," Guha said. It uses a polymer called styrene maleic anhydride, which renders sperm ineffective. A single injection of 60 mg is enough to keep the sperms at bay for at least 10 years.

The compound can be removed by flushing the vasa deferentia with an injected solvent.

Guha, who has received several awards and has more than 100 research papers in cited journals, has also researched in the areas of contraceptives in mass usage and rehabilitation of the blind.

(IANS)