|
 "Use of the product was enough to demonstrate HIV protection of 27
percent" over placebo, chief author Dr. Jared Baeten, a professor of
medicine and global health at the University of Washington in
Seattle, told Reuters Health by phone. "And in some groups of women
who appeared to use it better, such as women over age 21, the risk
of HIV was reduced by more than half."
Such silicone rings, infused with a different drug, are already used
for birth control.
Results of the study, known as ASPIRE, were presented Monday at the
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston.
Results were also published online in the New England Journal of
Medicine.
Findings from a second test of the device, known as The Ring Study,
were also to be presented; it found a 37 percent reduction in women
over 21, according to a news release from the International
Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), the nonprofit organization that
developed the ring.
In sub-Saharan Africa, where the HIV epidemic is primarily driven by
unprotected heterosexual sex, women ages 15 to 24 are twice as
likely as men to be infected.
ASPIRE enrolled 2,629 volunteers from Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe and
South Africa who received placebo rings or rings containing the
antiretroviral medicine dapivirine. They were followed at 15 sites
for an average of 18 months.
During that follow-up period, 71 women with the drug therapy became
infected versus 97 in the placebo group, for a 27 percent reduction.
The rate was cut by 37 percent when the researchers excluded two
sites with poor compliance. When women over 21 were considered
separately, 56 percent of infections were prevented.
"A third of infections were prevented overall and more than half
(were prevented) in those who used the product better. That's a real
cause for optimism," said Baeten.
The rings are easily inserted by the woman, like a diaphragm. "It's
easy to do, doesn't interfere with sex, doesn't interfere with
menses," he said.
[to top of second column] |
The rings were given out for free, and the volunteers also received
condoms and HIV prevention counseling. Only 6 percent had exchanged
sex for money in the previous year. New rings were withheld if the
woman became pregnant and until she stopped lactating.
The cost of the therapy has not been determined. However, Baeten
said, in terms of costs of production, the cost of the active
ingredient is really small. Also, he said, "The amount of drug in
this ring is quite small . . . which is good in terms of safety
because the amount of the drug the woman is exposed to is really
quite low. So the idea is that these can be manufactured at scale
for a fraction of what HIV treatment would cost."
An IPM spokeswoman said in an email, "Costs could vary from country
to country and depend on factors such as the scale of manufacturing,
delivery and packaging, and volume. Currently, the expected initial
cost of the dapivirine ring - US$5 per ring - compares favorably" to
other prevention methods.
The study was financed by the National Institutes of Health.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/24mtdGD The New England Journal of Medicine,
online February 22, 2016.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
