AIDS Conference Ends With Appeals

Members of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), an HIV/AIDS organisation, participate in a protest march in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, April 23, 2006. Health experts gathered Sunday for an international AIDS prevention conference focussing on microbicides, a potentially powerful weapon in the fight against the virus. (AP Photo/Obed Zilwa) (Obed Zilwa - AP)

There are currently five different products being tested on 12,000 women in South Africa alone _ and thousands of women in other African nations. Dozens of agents that could interrupt HIV transmission have so far been identified. There are also hopes that the microbicides could be used to prevent other sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

One of the products, cellulose sulphate, has the potential to be a contraceptive and shield against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It is currently being tested for its efficacy in Nigeria, India, South Africa, Uganda and Benin, having undergone safety trials in the United States.

Henry L. Gabelnick, executive director of the U.S.-based reproductive health organization CONRAD, said there so far had been no problems in the trials.

"We're doing fine," he told The Associated Press.

Sumen Govender, clinical trials manager for the New York-based Population Council, said South African trials of another microbicide, Carragard, which coats the vaginal cells and prevents the virus from entering, should be complete by March. Final availability would depend on the speed of government approval, he said.

Much of the funding for the research comes from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. government.

The state of the ongoing research and latest scientific developments were the focus of the conference, which is held every two years. The next one will be held in New Delhi in 2008.

WHO's Phumaphi criticized big drug companies for showing no interest in the product despite the huge potential to save lives.

"I would like to convince the pharmaceutical industry to invest in this product, which has the potential to double or triple the population protected," she said.

Trying to dismiss fears that microbicides would mainly be used in developing countries and therefore offer only low profit margins, Phumaphi cited their potential for use in contraception in wealthy countries. "There is a global demand," she said.