The Injectable Race: RISUG, ADAM and Plan A Explained (2026)

Published October 24, 2026 · Investigational · Not approved

Most talk about "male birth control" focuses on a daily pill. But a different idea has been moving quietly for almost 50 years: a one-time procedure that places a gel inside the vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm, to block or disable sperm for a long time, and that is meant to be reversible. In September 2026 that idea got two big moments in the spotlight: a feature documentary, Give It a Shot, and a Washington Post story on September 30 headlined "The era of male birth control may be nearing." All three products below are investigational, and none is approved in the United States.

RISUG: the 50-year-old original

RISUG stands for "Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance." It was developed by the Indian biomedical engineer Sujoy Guha, who began working on it in the 1970s, according to a review of the documentary. As Jezebel describes it, a polymer hydrogel is injected into the vas deferens; Guha's reasoning was that sperm carry a negative surface charge and passing through the positively charged gel would leave them unable to fertilize. Reversal is described as flushing the gel out.

The Washington Post story, by Margaret Hetherman, profiles Guha, now 86, and says his idea is "gaining momentum" [1]. The syndicated version describes the procedure as a pinhole-size opening to expose the vas, an injection, a bandage and brief observation, and notes that 500 men in India took part in a clinical trial. The Times of India reports that RISUG has completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies. Despite decades of work, the documentary argues it has struggled to attract major drug companies. RISUG is not approved for sale in the U.S.

Give It a Shot

Directed by Vaishali Sinha, Give It a Shot (1 hour 32 minutes) follows Guha and the effort to bring a reversible male method to market, and asks why contraception has fallen so heavily on women. It opened in Los Angeles theaters on September 18, 2026, per Jezebel. The film also features investor L.R. Fox, who says in it: "The holy grail of contraception is something that's long-lasting and reversible" [3].

ADAM: Contraline's hydrogel

ADAM, from Contraline, uses a similar concept: a water-soluble hydrogel placed in the vas deferens to block sperm transport, intended to be long-lasting but not permanent. Its first-in-human study of 25 men in Australia is listed as completed, and Contraline's pipeline page now describes ADAM as "Phase 2 ready," with Phase 2 planning underway. ADAM is investigational and not approved.

Plan A: NEXT Life Sciences

Plan A is a hormone-free hydrogel from NEXT Life Sciences, the company associated with L.R. Fox. Vice describes it as an injection into the tubes that carry sperm, preventing sperm from entering semen, and notes the company wants it to be reversible but that this still needs to be shown in human trials. The Washington Post summary says Plan A and ADAM are advancing through U.S. clinical trials [1][3]. Plan A is investigational and not approved.

How the three compare

	RISUG	ADAM	Plan A
Developer	Sujoy Guha (India)	Contraline	NEXT Life Sciences
Approach	Hydrogel in vas deferens	Hydrogel in vas deferens	Hydrogel in vas deferens
Hormonal?	No	No	No
Reported stage	Phase 1 and 2 completed (India)	First-in-human done; "Phase 2 ready"	In clinical trials (per WaPo)
Approved in U.S.?	No	No	No

Why this approach gets attention

The appeal is easy to see: one procedure instead of a daily habit, no hormones, and in principle a way back. But "in principle" matters. Reversibility, how long protection lasts, and how well these methods prevent pregnancy all have to be proven in well-designed trials before any regulator would consider them. Long, repeated delays are part of this field's history, as the documentary itself shows.

For the daily-pill and gel side of the field, see our full status tracker and every option in development. Until something is approved, the male options remain condoms and vasectomy.

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This article is news and education, not medical advice. No male contraceptive described here is approved. Get notified of updates.