Hong Kong men could play an important part in global trials of a male pill tipped to revolutionise contraception, the local-born inventor of the method says.
University of Manchester senior lecturer in endocrinology Dr Fred Wu, the son of former legislator and urban councillor Alex Wu Shu-chih, said an effective male pill could be just three years away.
Injected forms of his testosterone-based contraceptive were already 99 per cent effective, and researchers in Manchester are working on pills, patches and implants to cut sperm production.
The World Health Organisation has hailed the injections, developed in 1996, as being 'as effective as the female pill'.
Dr Wu said: 'The progress we have made is mainly in new forms of delivery to get closer to a marketable product. There are now two major pharmaceutical companies which are working with us on this. This is a complete turnaround because, in the past, the companies have believed there was no future in male contraceptives.' The success of trials involving more than 1,000 volunteers and widespread male interest convinced drug giants Organon and Schering to become involved.
'When we made a request for volunteers, the switchboard was jammed for several days,' Dr Wu said.