One to watch, perhaps – the hopeful US innovators of Origami Condoms are set to launch an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign on May 7th to help bankroll their phase II clinical trials.
The Origami Condom range is proposed as a viable alternative to the traditional rolled-up condom, with three anatomy-specific designs that simulate the sensation of sex without a condom: the Origami Male Condom (OMC); the Origami Female Condom (OFC); and the Origami Receptive Anal Intercourse Condom (ORAI). The ORAI is the first condom designed specifically for receptive anal sex.
Origami Condoms will also be the first to come folded and “slipped” on instead of unrolling as they’re applied, as with the traditional latex condom.
“It is structured like an accordion so the condom can slip on instantly instead of struggling to unroll it like the old latex concept,” the company says. “The bellows-shaped Origami Condoms create a reciprocating motion inside the lubricated condom that simulates the sensation of ‘sex without a condom,’ for both partners, like the real deal.”
First developed by Danny Resnic in the mid 1970s, the finish line could finally be in sight for this alternative solution. Clinical trials on the range began in the USA in 2011 with funding from the National institutes of Allergies and Infectious Disease, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Though still not commercially available, global distribution and online sales are expected by the end of 2014 following regulatory approvals from the FDA, WHO and CE-Marking the EU market. The Phase II large-scale clinical trials required in order to gain those marks of approval, however, will cost a minimum of USD $3 million.
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