Simple but Sophisticated: Microbicide Technologies to Fight the Global HIV Pandemic

The global HIV pandemic has thus far caused untold amounts of suffering and tens of millions of deaths around the world. Although the therapeutic armamentarium to combat HIV in victims already infected continues to become more potent, there are no technological interventions that can be used to prevent the sexual transmission of the virus other than the 400-year-old male condom and the more recent female condom. Yet the continued and rapid spread of this disease is a clear indication that these available protective measures are not enough. Moreover, the failure of several HIV vaccine clinical trials presses the need for additional types of preventative technologies that inhibit the sexual transmission of HIV. Microbicides are one such technology offering prophylactic hope. These are products that disrupt one or more steps in the HIV infection cycle and are designed to be present in the vagina for as short as a day and up to a month.