NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Two leading drug manufacturers, Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb, said they are teaming with the International Partnership for Microbicides, a non-profit researcher, to develop a vaginal gel that could prevent HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
"These historical agreements mark a turning point in the pharmaceutical industry's commitment to develop a safe and effective microbicide to protect women from HIV," Dr. Zeda Rosenberg, chief executive officer of IPM, said in a press release.
Merck (up $0.68 to $28.22, Research) and Bristol-Myers (up $0.03 to $21.17, Research) each signed separate agreements with IPM, allowing the group to distribute the drugs in poor countries without having to pay royalties. The drugs are a new class of antiretrovirals known as entry inhibitors because they prevent HIV from entering host cells, and this is the first time drug makers have licensed such an early-stage drug as a microbicide, according to the companies and IPM.
The microbicides, successfully tested on macaque monkeys, could prevent 2.5 million HIV infections over three years, according to the drug makers and IPM.
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To read about the industry for AIDS drugs, click here.
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