Male Contraceptive Initiative (MCI), a private non-profit foundation, announced a David Sokal Innovation Award grant to Dr. Rahima Benhabbour an assistant professor in the UNC/NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering and an adjunct professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, to support research and development of male contraceptive methods.
Dr. Benhabbour’s award will aid her work towards developing long-acting delivery systems for male contraceptives. Specifically, the project focuses on using a novel long-acting implant that can be injected under the skin, forming a reversible implant that can deliver male contraceptives over a sustained period.
Dr. Benhabbour explains, “We are excited to develop an LA in-situ forming implant (ISFI)-based drug delivery system of non-hormonal male contraceptive(s) (NH-MC(s)) that can address the limitations of short-acting NH-MCs. The ISFIs will be injected subcutaneously to form a biodegradable drug/polymer implant and provide sustained and controlled delivery of a non-hormonal male contraceptive. These implants can be safely removed to terminate contraception or in the case of an undesired side effect or allergic response.”
For more details please visit the full announcement here.