NIH Grant Helps Population Council Advance Promising Research.(Brief Article)

2001 DEC 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has awarded a grant of $6.8 million to the Population Council to further its research on a promising HIV/AIDS prevention product.

The funding is aimed at developing improved second-generation microbicides and at increasing the number of novel microbicide candidates available for continued research toward product development.

Microbicides are gels or creams that, applied vaginally, could enable women to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Worldwide, the vast majority of new HIV infections occur through heterosexual transmission, making women especially vulnerable. Women now account for 47% of infections globally. A female-controlled prevention method, a microbicide potentially offers a powerful new approach to addressing the global AIDS pandemic.

Research on microbicides has been a top priority at the Population Council for the past 12 years, in large part because the products could be applied prior to sexual activity and not involve the woman's sexual partner. The Council's research has already delivered a highly regarded carrageenan-based microbicide, Carraguard. Carrageenan, a sulfated polysaccharide derived from seaweed, has been used for many years as a stabilizing agent in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. To bring this innovative prevention product to women who urgently need it, the Council is working with collaborators in South Africa and Thailand to conduct U.S. FDA-approved expanded safety and acceptability studies on Carraguard. While this testing takes place, researchers are pursuing additional improvements in the formulation, aided by the NICHD ...