Microsoft founder Bill Gates said efforts to stop the AIDS pandemic should focus on protecting women.
Speaking on Sunday, Gates said a new oral prevention drug for women that can block the transmission of HIV marks a turning point in the fight against AIDS. Gates was speaking at the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Reuters reported.
About half of the 39 million people have been infected with HIV are women, according to the World Health Organization.
Scientists say a pill used as part of the anti-AIDS drug cocktail given to HIV patients, dubbed Tenofir by drug-maker Gilead Sciences Inc., is showing signs that it can be taken alone as a preventive drug to keep people from getting the AIDS virus.
So far, there are 16 potential microbicides in initial trials involving people, with five already in advanced trials.
Dr. Zeda Rosenberg, chief executive of the International Partnership for Microbicides, said Tenofir could be taken vaginally by women to get into cells in the vaginal tissue. In this way, Rosenberg said, when the HIV virus is introduced into the vagina, it can’t replicate in the cells because of the drug, causing it to die.
If Tenofir works, it could eventually allow women to take the medicine and not worry about asking their partners to use a condom, scientists said.
