Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Lexington, Mass. has created microbicide PRO 2000, a gel compound that has proved to be safe and 30 percent effective in preventing the AIDS virus from infecting women.
The NIH said that 33 percent effectiveness is considered statistically significant, according to an Associated Press article.
"Although more data are needed to conclusively determine whether PRO 2000 protects women from HIV infection, the results of this study are encouraging," said National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Anthony Fauci in a statement to the AP.
The NIH, which includes the NIAID, said that it was suggested through the institute's first large clinical study of a microbicide that the microbicide gel is to be applied topically to the vagina or rectum. The study involved more than 3,000 women in six African cities and one in the United States.
The results of the clinical trials were revealed on Feb. 9 at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Montreal, Canada, by the NIH.
"An effective microbicide would be a valuable tool that women could use to protect themselves against HIV and one that could substantially reduce the number of new HIV infections worldwide," Fauci said in the article.
According to the article, Women make up 50 percent of all HIV-infected people worldwide, but nearly 60 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, NIH said.
Web MD also has an article on the subject here.
