Melbourne biotech Starpharma has released positive results of a clinical trial for its topical microbicide VivaGel.

The double-blind trial of 54 women in the US and Kenya demonstrated that VivaGel was safe and well-tolerated in sexually abstinent women.

It means the product has been deemed suitable for continued development as a topical microbicide for the prevention of HIV and genital herpes. Starpharma is also investigating its efficacy in human papillomavirus (HPV).

The clinical study was funded by the US Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and conducted by DMID in collaboration with the Sexually Transmitted Infections Clinical Trials Group (STI-CTG).

It was the first study to be conducted under the US Investigational New Drug application (IND) for VivaGel for prevention of genital herpes.

For more information on Starpharma and VivaGel, see the May/June issue of ALS.