ORIGAMI CONDOMS: The First Anal Condom Begins Clinical Trial in Boston
9 May 2013 - ORIGAMI Condoms, based in Los Angeles, CA, has been in development of the world's next
generation of condoms. The company's unique silicone condom designs include the first
condom designed and clinically tested for anal intercourse, the ORIGAMI Anal Condom. A
Phase 1 Clinical Trial is underway in collaboration with researchers at The Fenway Institute of
Boston. The ORIGAMI Condom was developed by Danny Resnic, a native of Boston, MA, who
studied at the Art Center College of Design, in Los Angeles, during the mid 1970s.
Surprising to most consumers, especially to gay men, no condom has ever been safety tested
for anal sex usage, nor has it been reviewed or approved for such by the FDA.
The near universal dissatisfaction with the old, rolled latex condom has marked the history of
condom use since its creation, and consumers are eager for more pleasurable, less
compromising options. Things that are worn need to be design specific to human anatomy.
Hats are designed to wear on the head, shoes designed for feet, and likewise a condom for anal
sex needs to be designed for compatibility with the rectum. The designers at ORIGAMI
Condoms believe that the time for a new idea is long overdue.
The rolled latex condom has not had a significant structural design change since it was first
marketed around 1918. To give perspective to the invention of the condom, consider that it was
designed a few years after the first radio broadcast (1906), the invention of the tea bag (1904),
and just 15 years after the Wright Brothers' first successfuly operated airplane flight (1903).
'Talkies', sound in the movies, started in theaters in1927, just 11 years after the first latex
condom was sold.
 The ORIGAMI Anal Condom is the first design
initiative to propose a condom specifically for
anal sex. It is an inserted condom that is
internally fitted into the rectum for receptive
anal intercourse. This means the 'top' partner
needs no condom. The innovation reduces
potential irritation for the receptive partner and
simultaneously optimizes sensation for the
penetrating partner. It is intended to be easily
inserted with one finger and it could be put in
place hours before intercourse. This new idea
eliminates the distraction with intimacy that is
often associated with unrolling a male condom
onto the penis.
The condom industry, now dominated by 4
major players, has not successfully leveraged new technologies for typical product design
evolution. Condoms are still made the same way with the same type of dip molding equipment
they started with following the industrial revolution. The issue is that men have never liked this
form of protection but there was never an alternate choice available, until now. A paradigm shift
from 'protection' to 'pleasure' will take some time, although the ORIGAMI Condom people are
quite advanced with their developments.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation noted that "Origami Condoms provides an excellent
example of a private enterprise focused on new condom design to promote consistent use by
emphasizing the sexual experience. The idea of a condom that men [and women] would prefer
to no condom is a revolutionary idea, but we know more today about sexual function than at any
time in the past, and advances in relevant disciplines such as neuroscience, vascular biology,
urology, reproductive biology, materials science, and other fields can contribute to new and
unconventional approaches."
The US clinical trial for the ORIGAMI Anal Condom was funded by the National Institutes of
Health. The new type of condom is expected to reach the market following FDA review
sometime in mid-2015.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has decided to launch a competition for the eagerly
anticipated, next generation of condoms. The winner of their $100,000 Grand Challenges
Explorations may redefine how people all over the world will have sex in the very near future.
The Gates Foundation is also offering the winners of this design challenge the opportunity for a
subsequent, Phase II award of $1,000,000 to complete their product development and bring it to
market.
Media contact: For additional information, photos or requests for interviews: Please contact
Ray Chavez in Los Angeles, CA at: origamicondoms@gmail.com or by phone at:
310-299-2848 or 310-795-8222.
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"Reproduced with permission - ORIGAMI Condoms"
ORIGAMI Condoms
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