The 55th Interciencia Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy held in San Diego, California (USA) has been the stage for the presentation of a new device that administers drugs that protect both against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and against herpes . It is a vaginal ring and has been developed by a team of virologists, chemists and engineers from the Jean Monnet University of Saint-Etienne (France).
Scientists have proven the effectiveness of this silicone vaginal ring against HIV and the herpes virus. The ring is capable of releasing drugs in the form of hydrophilic molecules such as tenofovir (against HIV) or acyclovir (against herpes) , which would protect all those women at higher risk of exposure to sexually transmitted diseases.
One of the most complex problems that the researchers faced was the fact that silicone, the main material with which vaginal rings are created, is a hydrophobic compound, that is, that it repels water or that it cannot be mix with water (like oil). To overcome this difficulty, they added a hydrophilic compound to the silicone, which allowed the drugs to be released successfully.
Some of the rings tested are capable of delivering 1.5 to 3.5 mg / day of acyclovir and 3.5 mg / day of tenofovir for up to 50 days, doses sufficient to prevent HIV-1 infection, hepatitis B and genital herpes .
From now on, the evaluation of the rings in clinical trials begins and, subsequently, they will begin to be produced in large quantities and at low cost. Thus, according to scientists, this technology will be on the market very soon.
“ It is difficult for women from disadvantaged countries to master the prevention of sexually transmitted infections since the use of condoms is mainly under the control of men. The aim of our study was to develop a vaginal silicone ring that was capable of offering multiple antiviral molecules active against various sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, for a long duration ”, explains Meriam Memmi, leader of the study.
