Microbicide field praises agreement to license new ...( October 31 2005 (Washington DC) The...),Health

October 31, 2005 (Washington, DC) The Alliance for Microbicide Development hails today's announcement by pharmaceutical giants Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb that each has granted to the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) royalty-free licenses to develop, manufacture, and distribute new antiretroviral compounds as potential microbicides to protect women from HIV.

Members of key classes of antiretrovirals known as entry inhibitors, the compounds are designed to keep HIV from efficiently entering host cells at critical points. "The microbicide field is delighted that Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb have joined forces with us in the war against HIV," said Polly Harrison, director of the Alliance. "The agreements are a big step forward for the kind of public-private partnerships we need to expedite microbicide development, and I hope to see other companies with promising candidates do likewise."

"This advances the goal of developing microbicides that are not only safe and effective but also affordable," said Anna Forbes, Acting Director of the Global Campaign for Microbicides. "By contributing these candidate products to the field, with the assurance that if successful, they will be made available to the developing world by a non profit entity, these companies bring us closer to the time when we can put new prevention tools into the hands of those who need them most."

Henry Gabelnick, Ph.D., executive director of CONRAD and board member of IPM agrees, "This is great news for all of us who are involved in developing an effective microbicide. The more compounds we have in clinical trials, the closer we'll get to having an effective product ready for distribution." The microbicide field has built an extraordinary amount of scientific momentum, with five first-generation candidates now in large-scale effectiveness trials around the world and other candidates well into safety trials. Given current scientific advancements and a bi
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Contact: Annette Larkin
annettelarkin@rationalpr.com
202-429-4929
Rational PR
31-Oct-2005

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