NEXT Life Sciences is a preclinical medical device company that developed Plan A™, the first male birth control that is non-hormonal, long-lasting, and reversible. Plan A™ will finally give the 80% of men who are trying to not have kids at any given moment a real option and address the problem of 50% of pregnancies worldwide being unplanned. Condoms have high failure rates and vasectomies are intended to be permanent. 

The Plan A™ design involves an implant of a patented hydrogel, known as Vasalgel®, in a minimally invasive procedure that takes minutes in an outpatient setting. The implant can be reversed by dissolving it at any time, on demand. This reversal is also a quick doctor’s visit and is magnitudes more reliable and safer than a vasectomy reversal.

Hormonal contraceptives for women and tested on men are strongly associated with several adverse effects such as acne, depression, and inflammation-related body dysregulation resulting in weight gain and increased levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Birth control pills for women have lethal side effects from documented risks for hypertension and blood clots.

Plan A™ expands family planning options with a non-hormonal solution for couples and alleviates the global burden for the nearly 20% of women who cannot utilize oral hormonal options or 45 million women globally (5 million in the U.S.) whose health suffers due to current options.

Next-Global stock photography shoot on Dec. 15, 2023 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Photo by Sean Openshaw / www.SeanOpenshaw.com

Plan A™ is a highly de-risked product showing proven long-lasting (up to 13 years) contraception and positive safety and efficacy results in clinical trials using a first-generation version of the hydrogel. The current product is planned to be tested in the US using an optimized hydrogel formulation alongside a more precise delivery technology.

The traction and milestones reached by the company, including leveraging and improving its validated contraception and formulation delivery platforms, are uncommon for a company at the seed stage with modest funding to date and in a relatively short period of time.

50,000 people in the US have already signed up to the interest list for Plan A™ and will be the early adopters as soon as it gets FDA regulatory authorization. This interest was generated organically and without any active business development or marketing efforts. Social media videos have totaled over 10M views in one month. The public response has exceeded all expectations.

L.R. Fox, CEO of NEXT Life Sciences, Inc., is striving to transform lives through the development of Plan A™.  Fox is interested not just in scientific innovation, but in how we solve society’s most systemic problems – including preventing unplanned pregnancy. Fox attributes his commitment to pioneering a male birth control product to growing up in the foster care system and seeing firsthand the devastating consequences of what can happen when people aren’t able to choose if and when to have a child. Fox’s goal for Plan A™ is to become a game-changer in family planning and men’s first choice in birth control. By giving men a better way to participate in family planning, Fox aims to help set up more people, more couples, and more communities for success.  Prior to founding NEXT, Fox founded WhiteFox Defense Technologies, a leading drone airspace security company. Fox was named to Forbes list of 30 under 30 in 2019.