Microbicide News and Research

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A Microbicide is any substance or process that kills germs (bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that can cause infection and disease). Also called germicide.

Important queries about PrEP, iPrEx trial for HIV infection

The results of the iPrEx PrEP effectiveness trial of once-daily TDF/FTC (brand name Truvada) in gay men, transgender women and other men who have sex with men are a landmark in HIV prevention research.

24 Nov 2010

HIV treatment drugs also help prevent HIV infection in high-risk men: Study

In a significant advance for HIV prevention research, a clinical trial confirms that the same drugs used for treating HIV can also help prevent HIV infection in the first place.

24 Nov 2010

iPrEx trial shows reduction in new HIV infections

Results of the world's first efficacy trial of an HIV-prevention approach called oral pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, were released online in the New England Journal of Medicine today.

24 Nov 2010

CONRAD congratulates Global iPrEx study team for HIV prevention trial

CONRAD is pleased to join in congratulating the Global iPrEx study team for their successful trial of oral tenofovir (TDF) with emtricitabine (FTC) for HIV prevention.

24 Nov 2010

New York Times examines HIV prevention products undergoing clinical trials

The New York Times examines several products being studied in clinical trials that researchers hope will one day prevent sexual transmission of HIV. The newspaper describes the ongoing trials of a vaginal microbicide gel containing the antiretroviral tenofovir which was found to reduce the risk of HIV infection in women by 39 percent, writing, "[o]ther clinical trials will report their results in 2011 and 2012 and, if all goes well, researchers hope to have a product or two ready to enter the market by 2013."

10 Nov 2010

White House Health Advisor Emanuel visits U.S. government-funded health programs during 3-nation African trip

The global fight against malaria could cut prevalence rates of malaria to one in 20 fevers by 2017, Special Advisor on Health Policy to the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget Ezekiel Emanuel said in an interview in Dakar, Senegal, Bloomberg reports.

2 Nov 2010

Reuters examines development progress of microbicide gel to prevent HIV

Reuters reports that the developers of a vaginal microbicide gel containing the antiretroviral tenofovir, which has been found to reduce "HIV infections in women by 39 percent," said the FDA last week granted fast-track approval designation to the gel.

28 Oct 2010

World's third rectal microbicide trial launched in Pittsburgh

The world's third rectal microbicide trial launched in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania today, with sites preparing to open in Boston, Massachusetts, and Birmingham, Alabama soon. Scientists will test the rectal safety and acceptability of tenofovir gel, a microbicide developed for vaginal use that has shown promise for preventing HIV through vaginal intercourse. Depending on the outcome of this new study, tenofovir gel could be further evaluated to determine if it can reduce the risk of HIV among both men and women who engage in receptive anal intercourse.

14 Oct 2010

MTN-007 phase trial evaluates vaginal microbicide to prevent rectal transmission of HIV

Tenofovir gel, a vaginal microbicide that has shown promise for preventing HIV through vaginal sex, is being tested in a new trial looking at its safety and acceptability when used rectally. The results of the study, being led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), will help determine if the gel should be evaluated further for its potential to prevent HIV among both men and women who engage in receptive anal intercourse.

13 Oct 2010

CQ Healthbeat examines HIV prevention research funding

The global economy has affected HIV/AIDS prevention research, so "scientists and those who fund them are struggling to set priorities among several competing research methods that could slow the spread of the disease, which causes about 2.7 million new infections worldwide a year," CQ HealthBeat reports.

8 Oct 2010

Researchers call for sustained funding to move HIV vaccine R&D ahead

At the AIDS Vaccine 2010 conference last week in Atlanta, researchers emphasized the need for sustained funding for vaccine research and development in order to further progress toward an HIV vaccine, SciDev.Net reports.

5 Oct 2010

New topical microbicide gel can prevent HIV transmission

Amyloid protein structures are best known for the troubles they pose in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Now researchers are trying to exploit their presence in a very different place in semen to find a new way to stop HIV.

29 Sep 2010

Study: Non-stick coating substance in semen reduces HIV transmission

A non-stick coating for a substance found in semen dramatically lowers the rate of infection of immune cells by HIV a new study has found.

24 Sep 2010

Researchers to develop vaginal microbicide gels to reduce HIV risk

With the support of an $11.8 million, five-year federal grant, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and their collaborators are developing a quick-dissolving vaginal film containing a powerful drug that reduces the risk of HIV infection, and they plan to begin testing it locally within a year.

17 Sep 2010

Quick-Med expands and strengthens NIMBUS technology intellectual property

Quick-Med Technologies, Inc., a life sciences company that is developing innovative technologies for the healthcare and consumer markets, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent 7,790,217 entitled "Method of Attaching an Antimicrobial Cationic Polyelectrolyte to the Surface of a Substrate."

8 Sep 2010

Experts gathered for UNAIDS, WHO meeting recommend follow-up studies of ARV-containing microbicide gel start soon

Experts gathered at a joint meeting of UNAIDS and the WHO last week called for two additional clinical trials to test the effectiveness and safety of a microbicide vaginal gel containing the antiretroviral tenofovir, which previous studies have shown reduces the risk of HIV transmission in women who used it before and after sex by 39 percent, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports (9/5).

8 Sep 2010

AVAC calls for economic and political support for CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial's critical follow-up studies

AVAC today issues a call to action to donors, policy-makers, researchers and advocates to ensure that critical follow-up studies to the landmark CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial receive the economic and political support needed to move forward as quickly as possible. The call comes as a group of microbicide and public health experts have agreed upon a plan for further studies, which are expected to cost $100 million over three years, of which only $58 million has been committed.

4 Sep 2010

American features series on HIV/AIDS: Prevention Strategies, MSM, Idus

A Scientific American series examines how recent scientific advances will guide future efforts to thwart HIV/AIDS and also looks at the epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) and injecting drug users (IDUs).

27 Aug 2010

Research may puzzle out HIV transmission by sexual contact

The virus that causes AIDS may undergo changes in the genital tract that make HIV-1 in semen different than what it is in the blood, according to a study led by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

20 Aug 2010

Opinions: AIDS 2010; Clean water, sanitation; Russia's HIV/AIDS epidemic; Financial tax; Medical abortion in developing countries

A VOA News editorial by the U.S. government reflects on last month's International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010, including key advancements such as the vaginal microbicide gel found to offer women some protection against HIV infection as well discussions about funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS and how the "criminalization of drug abuse and persecution of homosexuals" in the world is compromising efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

4 Aug 2010