The Phase III trial of the candidate microbicide Carraguard trial has contributed in many important ways to the research and development of vaginal microbicides for the prevention of HIV in women.

While Carraguard was not shown to be effective – as we had all hoped – finding the gel safe for long-term use is quite significant as our field moves toward evaluating the next generation of gels that are designed with more HIV specificity. The Population Council is the first to bring a novel product through completion of a Phase III clinical trial, and by doing so, has proved it possible to conduct a trial under trying circumstances and in a setting that many had assumed would never be possible. We congratulate them on this important achievement, wish them well in their future endeavors and hope that we can some day reach our ultimate goal, the one that all of us share – a world without HIV/AIDS.

Carraguard: More information about the Population Council Phase III trial of the candidate microbicide Carraguard can be found at http://www.popcouncil.org/microbicides/Resources.html.

Sharon L. Hillier, Ph.D., is professor and vice chair for faculty affairs, and director of reproductive infectious disease research, in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences; and a professor in the department of molecular genetics and biochemistry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. A senior investigator at the University of Pittsburgh-affiliated Magee-Womens Research Institute, her research as a microbiologist focuses on women's health and HIV prevention.

The Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) is an HIV/AIDS clinical trials network established in 2006 by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with co-funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Mental Health, all components of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Based at Magee-Womens Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh, the MTN brings together international investigators and community and industry partners who are devoted to reducing the sexual transmission of HIV through the development and evaluation of products applied topically to mucosal surfaces or administered orally. More information can be found at www.mtnstopshiv.org.