U.K. begins Phase
III trial of HIV microbicide

The United Kindom's Microbicide Development Programme announced this week that it has begun enrolling women in Africa for a Phase III clinical trial of PRO 2000, a microbicide developed by U.S. firm Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Agence France-Presse reports. The gel will be tested among 10,000 women in Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Zambia during the 39-month study to gauge its effectiveness in preventing HIV infections and possibly other sexually transmitted diseases.

"Early safety studies of this particular microbicide have been extremely encouraging," Julie Bakobaki of the U.K. Medical Research Council told AFP. "It's very exciting after four years of preparatory work to reach the point of enrollment into this trial. Showing this microbicide protects against HIV would represent a tremendous breakthrough in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS."

PRO 2000 also is being tested by the National Institutes of Health in the United States and Africa. (Advocate.com)