Research Roundup: mRNA flu vaccine recommendation, Bundibugyo virus tests support, Hantavirus test partnership

Fatherhood is often framed as a life milestone, but far less attention is paid to men’s role in deciding if or when that milestone occurs. Nearly half of all pregnancies, around 121 million globally each year, are unintended, highlighting major gaps in contraceptive access and limitations in today’s methods. Boosting investment in the research and development (R&D) of new and improved contraceptive options, including for men, offers a critical opportunity to strengthen reproductive autonomy, advance gender equality, and help prevent unintended pregnancy. The gendered burden of pregnancy prevention Without male contraceptive options beyond condoms and vasectomy, the physical, financial, logistical, and emotional burden of pregnancy prevention has long fallen on women.  While a wide range of options exist for women, from pills to injections, patches, and implants, an estimated 257 million women worldwide who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe, modern methods of contraception due to a combination of social barriers (such as cultural or religious opposition), structural challenges (including limited access to high-quality services or education), and technological limitations (such as unpleasant side effects or short duration of protection). These barriers are especially pronounced in low- and middle-income countries—in sub-Saharan Africa, nearly one in four women has an unmet need for contraception.  Addressing this gap requires expanding options for women, such as methods that are longer acting, more discreet, have fewer side effects, and require fewer health care provider visits, as well as expanding contraceptive choice for men. New male contraceptive options to replace or complement female contraceptives could help rebalance the shared responsibility for family planning, empower men to have greater autonomy over their own reproductive health decision-making, and contribute to reducing unintended pregnancy. The gap in male contraception Limited innovation in male contraception reflects decades of underinvestment—not a lack of demand. Research shows strong interest in male contraceptives among men in diverse settings worldwide, alongside high trust in male partner birth control use among female partners, with preferred product types and attributes varying across contexts. Despite this clear demand, progress in male contraceptive innovation has been slow, in part due to the limited funding landscape. Contraceptive R&D has relied heavily on public and philanthropic funding, with the Gates Foundation playing a lead role. Private-sector engagement has remained limited due to perceived uncertainty about the potential market, unclear regulatory pathways, high development costs, and the broader historical underinvestment in contraception R&D. The continued success of products currently in clinical development has the potential to spark greater engagement in the field from diverse investors. Male contraceptive innovations on the horizon  While the pipeline lags behind demand, several exciting and innovative tools and approaches are advancing through clinical development.  The most advanced product in development is a reversible hormonal gel, NES/T, which can be applied once daily to the upper arms and shoulders. The gel is absorbed through the skin and suppresses sperm production. Originally developed by the Population Council and the US National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, it is now being advanced by Contraline, which recently announced the launch of Phase 3 trial planning. Nonhormonal male contraceptive options are another promising area of research because they target sperm function directly, avoiding hormone-related side effects. Contraline’s ADAM™ is a nonhormonal injectable device that blocks sperm flow for an extended period before dissolving. It has demonstrated encouraging safety and efficacy data in a first-in-human trial, with Phase 2 planning underway. YourChoice Therapeutics and Columbia University’s YCT529 is a first-in-class nonhormonal daily pill that suppresses sperm production and has shown positive results in a small, early human trial.  The path ahead When the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first oral contraceptive pill for women in 1960, its rapid, widespread adoption transformed reproductive autonomy and expanded economic, education, and career opportunities for women, carrying benefits that reverberated across entire economies and contributed to broader gender equality. Continued innovation in female contraceptives remains essential to ensure options better fit the needs and lifestyles of women worldwide.  But this progress should also be matched by investment in novel male contraceptives. Ensuring that everyone who wants to use contraception can access safe, effective, and acceptable options will expand choice, strengthen reproductive autonomy, and contribute to a more equitable and resilient future for family planning at a time when reproductive health protections are increasingly constrained worldwide. 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has approved the use of a new single-dose oral treatment for sleeping sickness, a potentially fatal disease which is endemic in several countries in Central and West Africa. The approval of Acoziborole Winthrop, codeveloped by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and Sanofi, follows successful Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials conducted in the DRC and Guinea by DNDi in partnership with national authorities, which demonstrated that the drug is safe and effective. Existing treatments require a ten-day oral treatment regimen or a combination of injection and oral therapy that requires several days of hospitalization for patients in the most advanced stages. The DRC approval, which will make the drug available free of cost to patients in the country, is expected to be followed by endorsements in other endemic countries soon.A research team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health has shared promising early results from a first-in-human clinical trial comparing a new investigational vaccine against Lassa fever and rabies to a licensed rabies vaccine, finding that the vaccine candidate was safe and induced rapid and robust immune responses against both viruses. There are currently no available vaccines for Lassa fever, a dangerous disease considered a priority threat with epidemic and pandemic potential that is common in parts of Western and sub-Saharan Africa, which also have a high burden of another severe disease: rabies. A dual vaccine could help streamline health care delivery in settings with limited health care infrastructure; the vaccine candidate can also be freeze-dried for storage, making it well suited to low-resource settings where it can be difficult to maintain the cold chain. Last week, DNDi, the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), and the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) announced a new cooperative agreement to explore how the three organizations can work together to advance global health research and development (R&D) amid global aid cuts and calls to reshape the global health architecture. The organizations plan to pool their expertise and resources to advance the R&D of effective and affordable medicines, while centering patient needs and equity. In addition, the partners will collaborate on policy advocacy and communications activities to raise awareness of the impact and promise of the nonprofit product development partnership model in advancing innovative, lifesaving medicines for critical, but often overlooked, diseases.