A Fertility Regulating Vaccine Based on the Carboxyl-Terminal Peptide of the Beta Subunit of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin

Abstract

The World Health Organization’s Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction was established in 1972 in response to requests from a number of its member states that the Organization take a more active role in family planning research. The methods of birth control available at that time did not, and to a large extent still do not, satisfy all of the varied cultural and service demands of different populations and there was an expressed need to develop a greater variety of methods which would find wide acceptance, particularly in developing countries. One of the principal objectives of the WHO Programme, therefore, is the development of new family planning technology to meet these demands. A safe and effective method which could be administered at infrequent intervals, perhaps by paramedical personnel, and which is independant of active participation by the user to remain effective, is attractive to both the users and providers of family planning services. The acceptability of such a method would be further enhanced if its activity is restricted to the intended target, it is devoid of pharmacological activity and it does not produce undesirable side-effects. A birth control vaccine, eliciting a specific, safe and effective antifertility immune response lasting for 1–2 years is likely, therefore, to have a major impact in family planning programmes.