final program.qxd - Parallels Plesk Panel

OP 10.1
Progress in Microbicide Development
Dr. Zeda Rosenberg, CEO, International Partnership for Microbicides
AIDS is the world's most deadly infectious disease, claiming more than three million lives
annually. Every day 14,000 people are newly infected by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Women and girls bear a severe and increasingly heavy burden in the AIDS epidemic - in
sub-Saharan Africa, 57 percent of adults living with HIV are women.
Women's susceptibility to HIV infection results from a combination of biological, social and
cultural factors. Many women have little or no control over the conditions under which they
have sex and often cannot negotiate the use of condoms. The limits of condoms, as well
as other prevention methods, illustrate the urgent need for an expanded range of new
prevention options, particularly ones that women can initiate like microbicides.
Microbicides are products that could be used vaginally to reduce the transmission of HIV
during sexual intercourse. Microbicides could take the form of a gel, cream, film,
suppository or sponge that releases the active ingredient gradually. New delivery systems
for microbicides are also being investigated, such as vaginal rings, novel controlledrelease
technologies and solid dosage forms.
First-generation microbicides are currently in large-scale efficacy testing. Researchers are
also working on a next generation of microbicides which are specifically active against
HIV, including using antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). The future of microbicides will likely be
combinations - two or more mechanisms of action put in one product to increase
effectiveness. Different mechanisms of action for ARVs include non-nucleotide reverse
transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), entry inhibitors that bind directly to HIV and render it
unable to adhere to the cell, and CCR5 blockers that are designed to prevent HIV from
efficiently entering host cells.
One of the major challenges faced by the microbicide field is expanding the pipeline of
candidate microbicides being tested. The field must continue to seek out innovative new
compounds to prevent HIV, and facilitating licensing agreements with pharmaceutical
companies is a key step in this process. Other challenges the field faces include
managing clinical trials in developing countries, increasing funding for research and
development, and encouraging international leadership to support the need for
microbicides as part of a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS. With leadership, sufficient
financial resources, collaborative efforts and product development expertise, women in
developing countries could have access to effective microbicides within the next five to
seven years.
“ Focusing FIRST on PEOPLE “ 80 w w w . i s h e i d . c o m