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Science 25 July 2008:
Vol. 321. no. 5888, pp. 532 - 534
DOI: 10.1126/science.1160355
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Perspective

Whither or Wither Microbicides?

Robert M. Grant,1 Dean Hamer,2 Thomas Hope,3 Rowena Johnston,4 Joep Lange,5 Michael M. Lederman,6 Judy Lieberman,7 Christopher J Miller,8 John P. Moore,9 Donald E. Mosier,10 Douglas D. Richman,11 Robert T. Schooley,12 Marty S. Springer,13 Ronald S. Veazey,14 Mark A. Wainberg15

After disappointing results from all efficacy trials conducted to date, the field of microbicides research now faces substantial challenges. Poor coordination among interested parties and the choice of nonvalidated scientific targets for phase III studies have hampered progress and created mistrust about the use of microbicides as a method to prevent HIV-1 sexual transmission. Although new promising strategies are available, there will need to be serious reappraisals of how decisions are made to advance the next generations of candidates into clinical trials, and the use of appropriate animal models in this process will be critical.

1 J. David Gladstone Institutes, University of California–San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94518, USA.
2 National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA.
3 Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
4 Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), New York, NY 10005, USA.
5 Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
6 Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals/Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
7 Immune Disease Institute and Division of AIDS, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
8 California National Primate Research Center, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
9 Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
10 Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
11 San Diego Healthcare System and University of California–San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
12 University of California–San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
13 Merck & Co., Rahway, NJ 07090, USA.
14 Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, LA 70433, USA.
15 McGill University AIDS Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2, Canada.

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The main green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate counteracts semen-mediated enhancement of HIV infection.
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E-Letters:

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Challenges in HIV-Prevention Microbicide Research
Polly Harrison, et al.
Science Online, 17 Dec 2008 [Full text]

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