Britain Pledges Funds for Anti-HIV Gel Trials

On Tuesday, Britain pledged £24 million (US$45 million) to field test a microbicide gel, PRO2000, in more than 10,000 female volunteers in South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. PRO2000 can be applied before intercourse to prevent HIV from latching onto human cells. The trials, conducted by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and Imperial College London, are expected to begin in four months and will run for 39 months, MRC said in a joint statement with the government. The government-funded MRC is contributing an additional £2 million (US$3.8 million) for the research.

"AIDS is the biggest killer in Africa," said Hilary Benn, UK international development secretary. "Most new HIV infections occur among young African women. Women vulnerable to infection are frequently unable to refuse sex or to insist on the use of a condom," he said. "The £26 million will fund a final stage trial of a microbicide gel that, if effective, could help women to protect themselves against HIV infection."

"The gel is something women can use themselves" and it has a much better chance of being used than condoms, said Sheena McCormack, a clinical epidemiologist at MRC's clinical trials unit. "They don't have to ask men," McCormack added. "The funding will take us one step further towards identifying an effective microbicide, a crucial element of our effort to reduce HIV transmission," said Janet Darbyshire, MRC's clinical trials unit director.

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