DMAU and 11-beta-MNTDC
Dimethandrolone Undecanoate & 11-beta-Methyl-19-nortestosterone Dodecylcarbonate - Oral 'Two-in-One' Pills
Evidence grade 2 of 5, Thin. Read how the Atlas grades evidence.
The written rationale for this grade is still being prepared.
- FDA
- Investigational; early-phase (Phase 1/early clinical) trials. Not FDA-approved (2026)
Reference only. Not medical advice.
What can go wrong
Reported early-trial effects: mild weight gain, acne, decreased HDL cholesterol, headache, fatigue, and decreased libido. Mild liver-enzyme or other lab changes are monitored given the oral androgen class's history. Human safety and efficacy data remain limited and short-term.
This is something to take to a clinician. The Atlas can tell you what is known about dmau and 11-beta-mntdc in general. It cannot tell you what is happening in your body, and the difference matters most for exactly the symptoms that bring people to this page.
DMAU (dimethandrolone undecanoate) and 11-beta-MNTDC are experimental once-daily oral compounds engineered to act simultaneously as an androgen and a progestin - a 'two-in-one' design that suppresses LH/FSH while supplying enough androgenic activity to avoid hypogonadal symptoms. Their modified structures resist the rapid liver metabolism and HDL crash that doomed earlier oral androgens. NICHD/Population Council early-phase studies reported that the drugs lowered gonadotropins and testosterone and were generally well tolerated, but they remain in early trials with small numbers.
One molecule that acts as both the androgen and the progestin - the long-sought oral male pill.
What people take it for
These are the reasons people give for taking it. They are not effects it has been shown to have.
How it is supposed to work
These are modified 19-nortestosterone derivatives whose long-chain ester (undecanoate / dodecylcarbonate) slows clearance enough for once-daily oral dosing. Because each molecule carries both androgenic and progestational activity, it suppresses the pituitary (LH/FSH) like a progestin while its androgenic action substitutes for the suppressed endogenous testosterone - so no separate testosterone supplement is needed. Resistance to first-pass metabolism is the engineering trick that earlier oral androgens lacked.
Early signals and a familiar caveat
Phase 1 studies reported dose-dependent suppression of LH, FSH, and serum testosterone, with side effects including mild weight gain, acne, decreased HDL, headache, fatigue, and reduced libido - generally rated acceptable by participants. But hormone suppression in short studies is a surrogate; demonstrating sustained azoospermia/severe oligozoospermia and real-world contraceptive efficacy requires longer, larger trials these compounds have not yet completed. Some early work also probed taking the pill with food to optimize absorption.
Replacement is not the same as a cycle
The dual-action design intends to deliver only enough androgenic activity to prevent hypogonadism, not anabolic excess; nonetheless any oral androgen requires monitoring of lipids (HDL) and liver parameters, areas where prior oral androgens caused harm.
What it does to fertility
Intended to reversibly suppress spermatogenesis. Early studies measured hormonal suppression rather than long-term fertility recovery, which remains to be characterized.
What has to be monitored
The bloodwork this needs, and the reason it belongs with a clinician rather than a website.
- LH, FSH, serum testosterone
- Lipid panel (HDL)
- Liver enzymes
- Semen analysis in longer trials
What people get wrong
Often saidA male pill exists - it just isn't sold yet
ActuallyDMAU/MNTDC are in early-phase trials measuring hormone suppression, not approved or proven for contraception; calling them 'the male pill' overstates their stage.
Often saidOral male hormones always wreck the liver
ActuallyEarlier oral androgens were hepatotoxic; DMAU/MNTDC were re-engineered to reduce that liability, but long-term liver/lipid safety is still being established.
Who profits, and who pushes back
Nobody is named here yet, because we have not done that work on this entry. Read that as unfinished. Somebody almost certainly sells this, and somebody almost certainly disputes it. Assume both until we have checked.
At a glance
- DMAU full name
- Dimethandrolone undecanoate
- MNTDC full name
- 11-beta-methyl-19-nortestosterone dodecylcarbonate (11-beta-MNTDC)
- Design
- Single molecule with combined androgenic + progestational activity ('two-in-one')
- Stage (2026)
- Early-phase (Phase 1/2) human trials; small participant numbers
What this entry does not yet cover
What follows is unfinished work on our side, not a finding about DMAU and 11-beta-MNTDC. A short entry is not a safe entry.
- Timeline. We have not built the dated record of research and regulatory events.
- Cost and market. We have not documented what it sells for or who sells it.
- Supply chain. We have not mapped where it is made.
- Who uses it. We have not documented the user groups.
- What could change. No forward-looking summary yet.
- How it compares. We have not set it against the alternatives.
- Children and teenagers. We have not checked what is known about younger people.
- Where we land. We have not taken a position on this yet.
Sources
The studies below are named and described, but not linked. You cannot open them from here and check our reading against them, which means this page is our summary of the literature rather than a document you can verify. Weigh it accordingly until the links exist.
The studies that matter
Thirumalai et al. / Page et al., JCEM - DMAU oral dosing study2018-2019
Once-daily oral DMAU produced dose-dependent suppression of testosterone and gonadotropins and was generally well tolerated in healthy men
Yuen et al., JCEM - 11-beta-MNTDC study2019-2020
Once-daily oral 11-beta-MNTDC suppressed testosterone and gonadotropins with acceptable tolerability, supporting further development of an oral male pill