[IRMA press release]   Trial Design Significantly Enhanced By Strong Community Input October 2, 2013 – IRMA applauds the launch of the world’s first-ever Phase II rectal microbicide trial. The Microbicide Trial Network’s study, called MTN-017, will test a reduced glycerin formulation of tenofovir gel applied rectally. Volunteers consisting of gay men, other men who have sex Read More >>

Oral paper presented by Alex Carballo-Diéguez at IAS 2013.   Click for slides. Abstract: Background: Adherence to product use is the cornerstone of microbicide studies. This is the first study to assess how frequently mainly ethnic minority MSM, ages 18-30, with a history of unprotected receptive anal intercourse (RAI) in the prior year, would self-administer gel using Read More >>

Check out this interesting mini-bio of  Coco Alinsug, the latest in IRMA’s “Meet a Friendly Rectal Microbicide Advocate” series on the IRMA website here.  Coco is one of five new bios posted this week.   Coco AlinsungBoston, Massachusettes, USA A native of the Philippines and a resident of Lynn, Massachusetts with his partner, Coco Alinsug has made a Read More >>

— Now Playing —   “The Rectal Revolution is Here: An introduction to rectal microbicide clinical trials” on YouTube. The vid, developed by IRMA, Microbicide Trials Network, and Population Council, is available in English,  Spanish and Thai languages. Watch to learn about the need for rectal microbicides, how clinical trials work, and the importance of volunteers in the Read More >>

HIV prevention organizations debut The Rectal Revolution Is Here: An Introduction to Rectal Microbicide Clinical Trials in advance of first-ever Phase II rectal microbicide trial   [Press Release] International Rectal Microbicide Advocates (IRMA), the Population Council, and the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) today released a collaborative video project called The Rectal Revolution Is Here: An Introduction to Read More >>

via plosmedicine.org, by Trudie Lang and Sisira Siribaddana Why Do We Need Trials and What Makes a Trial a Trial? Clinical trials are needed globally to reduce disease burdens by helping developing safe and effective new therapies and vaccines. These solutions may be for non-communicable diseases like cancer and diabetes, or, as is especially needed in the Read More >>

via Treatment Issues, by Deirdre Grant More than a decade ago, “AIDS Drugs for Africa” was one of the rallying cries for a global activist movement.The meaning was simple: treat HIV-positive people with potent, life-saving medications regardless of where they live, how much money they have or who they love. These days, the phrase has more meanings Read More >>

via The New York Times, by Donald G. McNeil Jr. The failure of a daily pill to protect healthy African women against AIDS may not have been the pill’s fault but the women’s reluctance to take it, scientists at an important AIDS conference in Seattle were told this week. Last April, a promising trial of “pre-exposure prophylaxis” Read More >>

via AidsMap.com, by Gus Cairns The first trial in humans of an injectable, once-a-month formulation of an HIV drug has found that drug levels were maintained at a level that should in theory be high enough to protect recipients against infection, and that the drug has so far produced very few side effects. The research was presented Read More >>

via AidsMap.com, by Gus Cairns A gel containing 1% tenofovir formulated specifically for rectal use was much better tolerated than gels used in previous rectal microbicide trials when used in a safety study in 65 HIV-negative men and women, the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) heard yesterday. The gel was also compared with other Read More >>