Skip to navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to footer
Donate

​Our Grantees

A person wearing a lab coat and blue gloves holds a flask with blue liquid beside various glassware and a microscope on a laboratory table.
A person with short brown hair, red glasses, and a big smile, wearing a gray jacket over a pink shirt, standing in front of a plain light-colored wall.
Nadja Mannowetz, PhD Co-Founder & CSO

$300,000 / 2 years
Awarded 2021

YourChoice Therapeutics

Berkeley, CA

About

Dr. Nadja Mannowetz is the Chief Scientific Officer of YourChoice Therapeutics, who is working on a novel inhibitor of the male contraceptive target Retinoic Acid Receptor Alpha. With a background in sperm biology, Nadja co-founded YourChoice Therapeutics in 2018 with the goal of developing novel non-hormonal contraceptive products.

Our Grant

MCI is supporting YourChoice’s work in developing a reversible male contraceptive drug, YCT-529, which prevents the production of new sperm. MCI has both a grant and a program-related investment with YourChoice, which seeks to take any returns and feed them directly back into the contraceptive development community. MCI’s support will facilitate work that progresses YCT-529 towards first-in-human studies and eventual FDA approval.

A person with short brown hair, red glasses, and a big smile, wearing a gray jacket over a pink shirt, standing in front of a plain light-colored wall.
Nadja Mannowetz, PhD Co-Founder & CSO

$300,000 / 2 years
Awarded 2021

YourChoice Therapeutics

Berkeley, CA

About

Dr. Nadja Mannowetz is the Chief Scientific Officer of YourChoice Therapeutics, who is working on a novel inhibitor of the male contraceptive target Retinoic Acid Receptor Alpha. With a background in sperm biology, Nadja co-founded YourChoice Therapeutics in 2018 with the goal of developing novel non-hormonal contraceptive products.

Our Grant

MCI is supporting YourChoice’s work in developing a reversible male contraceptive drug, YCT-529, which prevents the production of new sperm. MCI has both a grant and a program-related investment with YourChoice, which seeks to take any returns and feed them directly back into the contraceptive development community. MCI’s support will facilitate work that progresses YCT-529 towards first-in-human studies and eventual FDA approval.

YourChoice Therapeutics: Advancing YCT-529, a Non-Hormonal Male Contraceptive Pill
Male birth control by Bay Area startup now in 1st phase of human testing
Modernizing Contraception with Your Choice Therapeutics’ Akash Bakshi

Publications

Mannowetz, N., Chung, S.S.W., Maitra, S. et al. Targeting the retinoid signaling pathway with YCT-529 for effective and reversible oral contraception in mice and primates. Commun Med 5, 68 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-00752-7

Noman, M. A. A., Kyzer, J. L., Chung, S. S. W., Wolgemuth, D. J., & Georg, G. I. (2020). Retinoic acid receptor antagonists for male contraception: current status†. Biology of reproduction, 103(2), 390–399. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioaa122

Hwang JY, Mannowetz N, Zhang Y, Everley RA, Gygi SP, Bewersdorf J, Lishko PV, Chung JJ. Dual Sensing of Physiologic pH and Calcium by EFCAB9 Regulates Sperm Motility. Cell. 2019 May 30;177(6):1480-1494.e19. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.047. Epub 2019 May 2. PMID: 31056283; PMCID: PMC8808721.

Miller MR, Kenny SJ, Mannowetz N, Mansell SA, Wojcik M, Mendoza S, Zucker RS, Xu K, Lishko PV. Asymmetrically Positioned Flagellar Control Units Regulate Human Sperm Rotation. Cell Rep. 2019 Mar 5;26(10):2847. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.075. Erratum for: Cell Rep. 2018 Sep 4;24(10):2606-2613. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.08.016. PMID: 30840902; PMCID: PMC6531047.

Shi R, Wolgemuth DJ, Georg GI. Development of the retinoic acid receptor alpha-specific antagonist YCT-529 for male contraception: A brief review. Contraception. 2025 Jan 3:110809. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2024.110809. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39756562.

YourChoice Therapeutics In the News

Meet MCI's Grantees & Fellows!

Our grantees and fellows represent some of the finest minds in the male contraception research community from around the world.

At Male Contraceptive Initiative, we prioritize funding research that aligns with our mission of driving male contraception closer to clinical trials. We strategically allocate our resources to support a diverse range of projects, focusing on non-hormonal and reversible methods that have the potential to meet the needs of a broader population. Our goal is to catalyze progress in this field and bring innovative male birth control options to market.

Discover the innovative research being conducted by our grantees and fellows by clicking on the buttons below:

MCI'S GRANTEES
MCI'S FELLOWS

Looking for Something?

Welcome to your comprehensive resource on the future of male contraception! We have packed this site with vital information, and to help you find exactly what you need, we’ve created a detailed guide. Please use the Table of Contents on our homepage to easily navigate to the research, news, or resources that interest you most. This will ensure you can explore all of our important content with ease. You can access the Table of Contents by clicking on the button below:

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Support Us