Safety and Efficacy of a Dapivirine Vaginal Ring for HIV Prevention in Women

Preventing HIV-1 infection, especially with female-controlled approaches, is a high priority. In this trial in South Africa and Uganda, a dapivirine vaginal ring was associated with a rate of acquisition of HIV-1 infection that was approximately 30% lower than that with placebo. In 2014, approximately 36.9 million people worldwide were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. 1 Rates of new HIV infection among adolescent girls and young women remain high in Eastern and Southern Africa, 2 which underscores the need for the development of safe and effective tools against HIV infection that women initiate themselves. 3 – 5 Self-inserted vaginal rings, which provide a sustained release of antiretroviral drugs over time, have the potential to offer women a prevention option that does not require daily or pericoital use. 6 The International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) developed a monthly self-administered vaginal ring that contains the nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase . . .