Europe approves first saliva-based contraceptive – no pill required

https://thenextweb.com/news/europe-approves-first-saliva-based-contraceptive-no-pill-required

by surprisetalk • 1 year ago

75 56 1 year ago

tldr: it's not contraception at all, just a cycle tracking app with salivary progesterone tests

Yeah, it is a medical device and has been approved as such by the UK standard body. Not "Europe" by a far stretch and certainly not EU.

croes• 1 year ago

It must be some kind of EU approval or how would you explain

Following the regulatory approval, Innie’s birth control is now available for purchase in Germany and Austria, with plans to expand to the UK later this year

alwa• 1 year ago

And more than a little Juicero energy, for a lateral flow strip:

“Inne’s technology uses a lateral flow strip similar to those used in COVID-19 or pregnancy tests. Users place a small amount of saliva on the strip, which contains antibodies that bind to progesterone hormones. The strip is then inserted into a matchbox-sized reading device that takes photos of the strip over 10 minutes, analysing how hormone particles move and develop across the strip.

The reader processes these photos using biochemistry and image processing techniques to determine hormone intensity, which is then synced to a companion mobile app.”

rahimnathwani• 1 year ago

Your comment reminded me of this 'digital' pregnancy test:

https://giddi.net/posts/a-look-inside-a-digital-pregnancy-te...

FalconSensei3• 1 year ago

which is then synced to a companion mobile app.

So basically an even worse (for the users) form of tracking someone's cycle, in terms of privacy

noname120• 1 year ago

up to 100% effective

That doesn't mean anything, 0% is included in “up to 100%”.

Leftium• 1 year ago

I think the stat was hedged because of this, further down:

...100% effective when used perfectly, and 92% effective for typical use.

IAmBroom• 1 year ago

That's still highly optimistic. Sperm can apparently live for days inside a woman in some instances.

cheshire_cat• 1 year ago

In case anyone else is wondering, that's their page: https://inne.io/pages/contraception

slau4• 1 year ago

This is actually a crazy important development if the results can be reproduced in larger studies.

Hormonal contraceptives are absolutely terrible. None of my long term partners were happy with them—whether it was a hormonal implant, hormonal IUD or pill, the side effects have always been ridiculous.

In addition, WHO classified oral contraceptives as G1 carcinogens. So having a potential alternative is incredibly important.

It is insane to me that as a society, we’re fine asking women to “just take drugs” that mess with their reproductive system, affecting their mood, sleep, weight, libido, and blood pressure (and most likely a lot more I’m not aware of).

123yawaworht456• 1 year ago

which society is that? who are those 'we'?

BrandoElFollito3• 1 year ago

My wife is very happy with her IUD. She had terrible menstrual pains and now it's all gone, including the blood (and related surprises).

So it depends on the person.

I would be super happy to use similarly effective male contraceptives.

slau4• 1 year ago

Yeah, that was my point, but obviously not very clear. It feels to me like male contraceptive offerings are basically non-existent, and that there is basically no research/innovation in that field because it’s sort of expected that women will shoulder that burden.

fipar2• 1 year ago

My wife asked herself for her IUD, and it made a huge positive difference for her. Her goal was just pain relief; we don’t need contraceptives since I got a vasectomy after our second baby.

Our daughter also asked for contraceptives on her own, and for the same reasons (though the contraceptive part is a nice side-effect in her case).

No society asked either of them for this.

I don’t doubt your partners had bad experiences with contraceptives, but that’s not a universal problem, and it’s also why it’s important to discuss them with the right professional to make the best choice for each person.

slau4• 1 year ago

I never said they had no uses! I’m glad they are effective in managing your family’s pains (I’ve experienced that as well, so I fully understand where you are coming from).

But that wasn’t really the discussion I was trying to start. I realise I made my point quite poorly.

I was lamenting the fact that because “female contraceptives” are a “solved problem”, there is basically no research or innovation in male contraceptives. See sibling thread.

anon291• 1 year ago

Catholics have been doing this for ages with urine tests. Ignoring any morality whatever, this 'tech' is really old. People malign it as the 'rhythm method'.

However, keep in mind that with the 'in-use' efficacy rate of 92%, about 1/12 couples using this method will fall pregnant in a year.

slau4• 1 year ago

Which, according to the article, is the exact same rate as oral birth control and much better than condoms.

wojciii• 1 year ago

The options for men (besides condoms) are not much better.

I'm not asking my partner (I'm married) to take any hormones while I wouldn't take any myself.

The problem is that much medicine was developed by men for a long time.

Female doctors are a (relatively) recent development and I'm sure they the situation will improve over time (maybe not in trumpet America) in civilised parts of the world.

johnisgood• 1 year ago

The options for men (besides condoms) are not much better.

I have talked about it before, but silodosin prevents ejaculation (but not orgasm) in men, which can be seen as a contraceptive. It is non-hormonal, it is an alpha-blocker. You would have to experiment with it, however.

hagbard_c• 1 year ago

Hm, not having read the article yet I had a quick vision of a product which gives a person such bad halitosis that the chance of successful procreation is reduced to an absolute minimum. No pill required, indeed.

joezydeco2• 1 year ago

A long, long time ago I worked for a pharma company that had a very large diagnostics division. hCG tests were their bread and butter.

It was proposed more than once that the pregnancy testing systems could easily be converted to a conception advisor. The lawyers immediately swooped in and feared that people would use it as a birth control system (e.g. go for it on the days it says you're NOT fertile). The liability was too much for them to take.

zaptrem• 1 year ago

Why would they be liable for off-label uses of their product?

joezydeco2• 1 year ago

Because this America and the tort system can let anyone sue for literally anything and win.

jawns2• 1 year ago

The headline is somewhat misleading.

The device tracks progesterone levels via saliva. It's currently possible to track those levels via urine or blood, but saliva is probably the most convenient.

But here's the catch. If you desire to avoid pregnancy, you avoid sexual activity during the fertile window that the device indicates. This is known as a fertility awareness method, and in Catholic circles it's also known as natural family planning.

It is not a contraceptive in the sense that it allows you to have sex during the fertile part of your cycle but not get pregnant.

Aeolun4• 1 year ago

Yeah, I thought about that while reading too. The big benefit of the contraceptive pill is that it allows you to not think about it at all.

samus2• 1 year ago

Except that one has to take it daily and that one also experiences its side effects daily.

spookie• 1 year ago

Read the article, they mention its side effects.

Yeul2• 1 year ago

Ha only if you are male. There are many side effects.

FalconSensei3• 1 year ago

yeah, but there are a lot of side effects and not everyone can take it.

mullingitover• 1 year ago

Q: What do you call a couple that uses the rhythm method?

A: parents

Fire-Dragon-DoL3• 1 year ago

Still great for couples who can follow it and don't want the downsides of all the other contraceptives

graemep4• 1 year ago

Even for them it has a high failure rate.

Its also being heavily promoted on social media as "natural" and safe without making people aware of the drawback.

jonplackett2• 1 year ago

‘Up to’ 100% effective is the most pointless description I’ve ever heard.

AnimalMuppet• 1 year ago

No, it can get worse. I've seen "up to X% off, or even more!" sometimes.

jonplackett2• 1 year ago

They’re both equally useless since the most useless X could be is… 100.

j1elo• 1 year ago

€21/month [1], and that's only if you pony up €500 upfront for a 2-year subscription... otherwise the shortest commitment is for €33/month...

I wouldn't dare question the usefulness of this without much more reading, but the first impression I had when seeing the product page reminded me of the overpriced ink subscription for printers.

[1] https://inne.io/products/minilab-subscription

fjfaase• 1 year ago

Now that women delay their first pregnancy till their early thirthies, they often experience problems with getting pregnant when they are ready for it, especially when they are having a busy life with a job. Knowing when you are fertile, which is in the days before the egg is releases, is important knowledge if you want to become pregnant. The stress related to not getting pregnant makes things worse. Many IVF treatments could be avoided if women had a simple and reliable method for knowing when they are fertile.

ta12653421• 1 year ago

Do not know, but AFAIK there are valid methods to meassure & detect the cycle valid, though most are not aware of?

habinero• 1 year ago

Huh? This is not at all accurate. There are simple and reliable methods, they're used all the time.

I promise you, women understand their cycles quite well and absolutely nobody jumps right to IVF (which costs tens of thousands of dollars) without exhausting cheaper options first.

Also the old canard of "just relax and it will happen" is just that: an old wives tale.

AndrewOMartin• 1 year ago

There already exists a saliva-based method that's all but guaranteed to avoid pregnancy.

Europe approves first saliva-based contraceptive – no pill required

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