[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 >>

Check out Javier Lopez’s mini-bio, the latest in IRMA’s “Meet a Friendly Rectal Microbicide Advocate” series on the IRMA website here.  Javier is one of five new bios posted this week.   Javier Lopez New York City, USA Javier Lopez first learned about rectal microbicides when his partner worked for Project Gel in Puerto Rico. Javier was 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 >>

via Positive Lite, by Marc-André LeBlanc “This situation is unacceptable. We’re in 2013, for the love of all that is wet and wild! How can we not know the answer to such a fundamental question—are lubes safe?”   Here I am again, standing in front of a giant wall of lube options at a local store. Water-based, silicone-based, Read More >>

  Global coalition of organizations and individuals calls for research agenda to determine safety of sexual lubricants For Immediate Release June 12, 2013 – Over 500 organizations and individuals from nearly 60 countries have endorsed a Global Call to Action on Lubricant Safety. They all demand answers on whether sexual lubricants are safe for vaginal and anal Read More >>

Have you and/or your organization endorsed the Global Call to Action on Lubricant Safety yet? (lists or endorsers in formation below.) We are going to be closing the call soon, so please make your move on lube safety NOW. Click here to read the Call and to endorse. We must KNOW whether water-based and silicone-based lubricants used during sex Read More >>

Our friends at AIDS Accountability International (AAI), in conjunction with The African Union Commission (AUC), recognised the need for greater African civil society organisation representation in the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) process. So, tt was decided to create the African Common Position (ACP) on ICPD to reflect and include the perspectives, recommendations and expertise of 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 >>

This post by IRMA’s Jim Pickett first appeared on the blog of the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance. The VOICE results are extremely important to the field of new prevention technology research. I hope current/future/much-needed discussions about VOICE don’t get drowned out by the HYPE (yes, all caps HYPE) surrounding the “baby cure” story which has dominated coverage out Read More >>

[Click here for the VOICE press release – “Daily HIV Prevention Approaches Didn’t Work for African Women in the VOICE Study” – from the Microbcide Trials Network] IRMA, like the rest of new prevention technology researchers and advocates, is disappointed to learn that daily oral Truvada was not found to be an effective HIV intervention among the African women at Read More >>