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Topical microbicides that prevent sexual transmission of HIV could have a major impact on the pandemic, but progress in this area has been slow and rather disappointing. Now, the field has been dealt yet another blow. On January 31, 2007, the research organization CONRAD halted a phase III clinical trial of cellulose sulfate in Africa and India because preliminary results indicated an increased risk for HIV infection among women who used the compound. As a precautionary measure, based on these results, Family Health International also halted its phase III trial of cellulose sulfate in Nigeria.
Cellulose sulfate (Ushercell) is a cotton-based compound that was designed to prevent HIV entry into mucosal cells. Eleven previous clinical trials, w…