New HIV microbicide developed

A new microbicide has been developed that could be used against HIV by researchers at St George's, University of London.

It is possible for the new protein to be produced in large quantities so it can be used by people in the developing world.

By combining two protein microbicides and preparing the fused molecule in plants, a microbicide that is far more effective against HIV could be mass produced by grinding the leaves of the plants.

Writing in the FASEB Journal, Julian Ma of the department of cellular and molecular medicine at St. George's said: "We desperately need to control the spread of HIV, particularly in developing countries.

"A vaccine is still some way off, but microbicides could provide a more immediate solution, provided we can overcome major hurdles of high efficacy, low cost, and wide availability - all of which we address in this study."

Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of the journal, called the discovery "nothing short of a breakthrough" in the fight against HIV.

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