Team 16

Bio.TECH: EMIT - Male Contraceptive

Team Members:

Candace Pless

Gabriella Estrada

Keiry Rodriguez

Fabiha Firoz

Anwar Gadhi

Team Mentors:

Dr. Jessica Weaver, PhD - Arizona State University, SBHSE

Dr. James Smith, MD MS - University of California San Francisco

Dr. Russell Hayden, MD - Shady Grove Fertility

Dr. Sarah Stabenfeldt, PhD - Arizona State University, SBHSE

YouTube Link:
View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting

Zoom Link:
https://asu.zoom.us/j/82697482679


Abstract

Currently, on the market there are two contraceptives for males. A reversible contraceptive, condoms which has a 93% effectiveness but a 16% failure rate. The only effective male contraceptive is vasectomies, a “male sterilization” which has a 99.85% effectiveness but is not always reversible. Worldwide, a need for alternative contraception has been estimated to reach 93.3 million men between the ages of 25 and 64 years of age. Due to this research, the development of EMIT has been created to be an alternative solution to vasectomies. EMIT is a male contraceptive that is designed to be a minimally invasive and non-hormonal, injected polymer into the male vas deferens to deactivate sperm motility prior to ejaculation, therefore, being reabsorbed into the body. This polymer will not only be biocompatible with biomaterials and inhibitors, it has the capability to control the drug release to deionize sperm. As a result, this will be an outpatient reversible male contraceptive procedure that will be potentially covered by insurance. This could potentially be an innovative solution for single males and couples that choose a male contraceptive. Doing so will improve the quality of life of those who desire to not get pregnant and balance the responsibility of birth control ownership. EMIT has the potential to provide these men and women security and economical reassurance.