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International manufacturer of health care products, Johnson and Johnson (J&J), will give away rights to an experimental microbicide gel to developing countries.
In a recent announcement, J&J subsidiary Tibotec Pharmaceuticals agreed to hand over development of the vaginal gel, which could prevent HIV infection among women and is in early-stage human testing, to the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), a non-profit organisation.
According to a Canadian newspaper, The Record, IPM estimated it would spend up to US $100 million to test the gel, and may reformulate it into a differently administered product, such as a vaginal ring.
"This agreement demonstrates that the public and private sectors can come together to confront the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and work to save women's lives," Zeda Rosenberg, CEO of IPM, said.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
