The new grant is in three annual payments of $1.5 million and will support collaborative work with Johns Hopkins University, University of Pittsburgh and CONRAD, a cooperating agency of US Agency for International Development.
The grant supplements a five-year $12.7 million award for microbicide research received in 2004 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In the absence of a HIV vaccine, microbicide drugs are the most promising weapon against the transmission of AIDS.
The original grant was issued to support research on the effect of vaginal microbicides with the aim of developing a rectal-specific microbicide within five years. These microbicides are currently in phase III testing. The supplemental grant will enable focused formulation efforts and trials to develop a rectal specific microbicide.