An experimental gel that uses a popular anti-HIV drug to protect women from the deadly virus has been shown to offer some protection against getting HIV during sex. The study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, which included 3,100 women, has found that women who received the gel, called PRO 200, were 30 percent less likely to contract the virus than those who did not receive it.

 

The trials were carried out at seven clinical centers in Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia and the U.S. The participants were also offered free condoms and information about safer-sex.

 

The vaginal gel is produced by Indevus Pharmaceuticals in Lexington, Massachusetts and is based on a microbicide designed to kill the virus before it enters the body through the vagina or rectum. Microbicides are gels or creams for female use which can be applied vaginally or anally to prevent transmission of HIV.

 

“After working for over a decade in microbicide research, we are seeing a glimmer of hope of finding a safe and effective microbicide which could protect women and substantially reduce new HIV infections here in South Africa and globally,” Gita Ramjee, director of the HIV prevention research unit of the South African Medical Research Council was quoted as saying.

 

The trials were funded by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers reported the preliminary findings at this week's annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Montreal. The company is waiting for more results on this product that should be available by the end of 2009.