Sacyl Pharmaceuticals

What Sacyl Pharmaceuticals does

Sacyl Pharmaceuticals is a privately held biotechnology company founded in 2022 and headquartered in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, with co-founder presence in New York (Weill Cornell Medicine), Istanbul (CEO Steve Kretschmer), and Bayreuth, Germany (Prof. Clemens Steegborn). The company is developing first-in-class, non-hormonal, on-demand contraceptives based on inhibitors of soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC, ADCY10), targeting both men and women. Its lead program is an on-demand male contraceptive pill that blocks sperm motility and capacitation within 15–30 minutes of dosing and provides temporary contraception lasting 12–18 hours, addressing the long-standing absence of reversible, male-controlled contraception beyond condoms and vasectomy.

The underlying technology originates from more than two decades of academic research by co-founders Lonny Levin and Jochen Buck at Weill Cornell Medicine, who first discovered and cloned sAC in 1999. Validation of the sAC-inhibition approach was strengthened in 2019 by the identification of two men with naturally occurring sAC frameshift mutations who were infertile but otherwise healthy, supporting the safety hypothesis. Sacyl published in vivo proof-of-concept for on-demand contraception in male mice in Nature Communications in 2023, demonstrating over 90% contraceptive efficacy for several hours and complete fertility reversal by the next day, alongside medicinal chemistry work published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry in 2022 describing second-generation, slow-dissociation sAC inhibitors (including TDI-11861).

The company is in pre-commercial development with no current revenue and 1–10 employees. Funding to date is non-dilutive, consisting of an SBIR grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced in December 2025 and prior funding from the Male Contraceptive Initiative in March 2024, with no disclosed venture rounds or licensing income. Human clinical trials are planned for 2025 with potential market entry projected for 2031, and the eventual product would be distributed through standard pharmaceutical channels — wholesalers, distributors, retail pharmacies, and healthcare providers — in the United States and globally, with explicit market research indicating especially large opportunities in LMIC markets such as Nigeria.

Name

Sacyl Pharmaceuticals

Legal name

Sacyl Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Website

https://sacylpharma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sacyl Pharmaceuticals is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, non-hormonal, on-demand contraceptives based on soluble adenylyl cyclase inhibitors for men and women, with human clinical trials planned to begin in 2025 and potential market entry by 2031.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reproductive Health Pharmaceuticals

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

akta.pro primary industry

Endocrinology & Reproductive Health Pharmaceuticals (incl. Women’s Health) (HLAIAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lead Optimization & Preclinical Candidate Selection (HLAIALAB), Clinical Development (Phase I–III Trial Design & Execution) (HLAIALAE)

Keywords

• Non-hormonal contraceptives
• Male contraceptive pill
• SAC inhibitors
• On-demand contraception
• Reproductive biotechnology

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Product Sales: Sacyl Pharmaceuticals plans to generate revenue through the sale of its non-hormonal male contraceptive pill. The company is in pre-commercial development stage with planned clinical trials in 2025 and potential market entry by 2031. Market research indicates a multi-billion dollar annual sales opportunity in the United States alone, with large LMIC markets such as Nigeria showing opportunities up to $1 billion annually.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sacyl Pharmaceuticals develops first-in-class, non-hormonal, on-demand contraceptive pills based on soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) inhibitor technology. The lead product is an oral male contraceptive pill taken 15-30 minutes before intercourse that provides 12-18 hours of contraceptive efficacy by blocking sperm motility and capacitation, with full fertility reversal by the next day. The company also has a complementary female contraceptive development program leveraging the same sAC inhibitor mechanism.

Product overview

Sacyl Pharmaceuticals is developing a portfolio of non-hormonal, reversible on-demand contraceptives based on soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) inhibitors. The core product is the sAC inhibitor technology platform, which is being developed into an on-demand male contraceptive pill (the lead product) and a complementary female contraceptive program. Unlike hormonal contraceptives requiring chronic use, sAC inhibitors provide temporary contraception by blocking sperm motility and capacitation when taken before intercourse. The company has achieved preclinical proof-of-concept in mice and is advancing toward human clinical trials planned for 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• On-Demand Male Contraceptive Pill Non-hormonal birth control pill for men taken 15-30 minutes before intercourse, providing 12-18 hours of contraceptive efficacy by inhibiting sperm motility and capacitation via soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC). Designed for sexually active men aged 18-60 seeking to share contraceptive responsibility with their female partners. The drug metabolizes completely within 24 hours with full fertility restoration.
• Female Contraceptive Development Program Development program for potent sAC inhibitors formulated as first-in-class non-hormonal, on-demand contraceptives for women, complementary to the lead male contraceptive pill. Targets the same sAC mechanism in female reproductive biology to provide women with a non-hormonal reversible contraceptive option.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% contraceptive efficacy for 3.5 hours in mouse studies; 100% prevention of pregnancy in mice studies
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Weill Cornell MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founders Dr. Jochen Buck and Dr. Lonny Levin are professors at Weill Cornell Medicine. The foundational sAC research was conducted there, and the technology is licensed and further developed by Sacyl. Dr. Buck is a Professor of Biochemistry and Dr. Levin is a Professor of Pharmacology at Weill Cornell.
• Sanders Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute (TDI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Peter Meinke serves as Sanders Director at TDI in New York. TDI applies pharma-quality medicinal chemistry to academic centers and collaborated on developing potent, drug-like sAC inhibitors. The shared laboratories designed and developed the sAC inhibitor compounds.
• University of BayreuthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Clemens Steegborn, Co-founder and Board Member, is Professor and Chair of Biochemistry at University of Bayreuth, Germany. His lab conducted structural, biochemical, and enzymatic characterization of sAC and collaborated on sAC inhibitor development.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Population Council: Non-profit research organization that has historically led development of long-acting and non-hormonal contraceptives (e.g., Mirena, Norplant). Relevant as an enabling institution for contraceptive development, grant funding, and LMIC clinical trial infrastructure that Sacyl may rely on.
• Male Contraceptive Initiative: Non-profit funding entity specifically focused on advancing novel male contraceptives. Already an existing funder and ecosystem partner of Sacyl; comparable as a thematic stakeholder shaping the funding and advocacy landscape around any male contraceptive asset.

Emerging players

• NEXT Life Sciences: Developer of Plan A, a non-hormonal male contraceptive in preclinical/early development. Comparable as a fellow emerging male contraceptive company, though with a different mechanism and dosing approach than Sacyl's on-demand pill.
• Calla Lily Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing a non-hormonal, on-demand female contraceptive (OneOme) with a rapid-onset vaginal product. Comparable as a fellow on-demand non-hormonal contraceptive developer addressing the same unmet need from the female side of the market.

Direct peers

• YourChoice Therapeutics: Biotech developing non-hormonal contraceptives for both men and women, including a vaginal contraceptive that immobilizes sperm. Comparable as a fellow early-stage non-hormonal contraceptive company competing for similar grants and partnership interest.
• Eppin Pharma: Early-stage biotech developing a non-hormonal male contraceptive that targets the sperm surface protein EPPIN. Closest direct mechanism competitor to Sacyl, both pursuing non-hormonal reversible male contraception and competing for the same NICHD/Male Contraceptive Initiative grant pool and VC dollars.
• Contraline: Clinical-stage company developing ADAM, a non-hormonal, long-acting hydrogel contraceptive for men. Directly comparable as another non-hormonal male contraceptive program targeting a similar investor and partnering universe, though differentiated by delivery (injectable hydrogel vs. oral on-demand pill).

Broad incumbents

• Bayer (Pharmaceuticals): Major contraceptive marketer (Mirena, Kyleena, Yaz) with deep women's health commercial infrastructure in the US, Europe, and LMICs. Directly comparable target partner for Sacyl given overlapping prescriber base and global distribution scale relevant to LMIC opportunity.
• Merck & Co. Global biopharma with historical investment in male contraception research and large women's health franchise. Sacyl co-founder Peter Meinke was formerly Executive Director of Discovery Chemistry at Merck, and TDI collaboration links the asset directly to Merck's medicinal chemistry ecosystem.
• Organon & Co. Spun out of Merck with a global women's health and contraceptive franchise (Nexplanon, NuvaRing, etc.). Most relevant big-pharma incumbent whose commercial channel and women's health focus would be the natural acquirer/licensor for a non-hormonal contraceptive like Sacyl's sAC platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sacyl-pharmaceuticals-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Sacyl Pharmaceuticals