Thursday, 28 March, 2024
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IPM starts three-month ring trial

The non-profit International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) has announced the start of the first clinical trial of its three-month vaginal ring designed to prevent two of the greatest risks to women’s health: HIV, which disproportionately strikes women of reproductive age, and unintended pregnancy, a leading contributor to maternal mortality.

The three-month vaginal ring is designed to slowly – and simultaneously – release the antiretroviral drug dapivirine to prevent HIV and the contraceptive hormone levonorgestrel. The primary goal of the study, known as MTN-030/IPM 041, is to assess the ring’s safety and pharmaco-kinetics (how the body processes the two drugs). Results of the trial, including the product’s acceptability to women and their willingness to use it in the future, will inform next steps for the ring’s formulation and future trial designs.

“Women’s sexual and reproductive health needs do not exist in isolation, and neither should their prevention options. A long-acting product that gives women two prevention methods in one may be quite appealing,” said Dr Zeda Rosenberg, founder and CEO of IPM. “The only way to end the HIV epidemic is to offer women product options that meet their various needs, and IPM remains committed to making this a reality.”

The multipurpose ring builds on the technology of IPM’s monthly dapivirine-only ring – the first long-acting, self-initiated HIV prevention method shown in two Phase III trials to safely help reduce women’s HIV risk during vaginal sex. The dapivirine-only ring will soon undergo regulatory review. IPM’s new multipurpose ring would expand women’s potential options with added convenience.

Research indicates that such combined technologies may be widely used by women who wish to space their pregnancies and provide added protection against the threat of HIV. Currently, the only effective products that offer simultaneous HIV prevention and contraception are condoms, which must be used at the time of sex.

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