By CLARE NULLIS
The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; 12:13 PM
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- An international AIDS conference ended Wednesday with impassioned appeals to political and pharmaceutical industry leaders to fund development of a virus-killing gel to protect women from the disease and so save millions of lives.
Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS, said he was deeply disappointed that research into microbicides _ or vaginal gels _ was so slow.
"I don't know of any other technology which would make such a difference to this pandemic as microbicides," he said in a message to 1,000 scientists and researchers at the conference.
He said safe and effective microbicides could be ready in 5-7 years, with only minimal additional funding, and thus turn the dream of saving millions of lives into reality.
Nearly 40 million people worldwide are infected with the AIDS virus, 25 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Last year alone, there were an estimated 6 million new infections. In the hard hit African countries women account for nearly 60 percent of infections. Most are infected through heterosexual intercourse.
"Life expectancy in some of the countries we are coming from is half of what it was 15 years ago," said World Health Organization assistant director-general Joy Phumaphi.
"Our children will not forget our failures because they are not only paying for them now, they will continue to pay for them for many generations," said Phumaphi, a former health minister from Botswana, where nearly 37 percent of the adult population has the virus.
UNAIDS and the World Health Organization have long promoted microbicides as a potentially valuable weapon in the fight against the epidemic, not least because it allows women to protect themselves without having to rely on partners who refuse to wear a condoms or be faithful.
Yet despite this, research has proceeded slowly.
In a video message to the conference, Piot said he was "deeply disappointed" at the slow progress, partly because of lack of funding. He said investment in microbicide development should be doubled _ and even then it would still only reach about US$150 million (euro121 million) per year.
"Given that investment in the AIDS response has risen to billions annually, this surely should be possible," he said.
Microbicides can take the form of a gel, cream, sponge or ring that releases an ingredient that can kill or deactivate HIV during intercourse.
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.