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VOICE Study launched in Zimbabwe
Date: 16 September 2009
Source: MTN Press Release
The VOICE Study "Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic" aims to determine the safety, effectiveness and acceptability of applying a vaginal microbicide gel containing an ARV (tenofovir) or taking an oral ARV tablet (tenofovir or Truvada) daily to reduce a woman's risk of acquiring HIV. It is the first trial testing both approaches and the first effectiveness trial of a microbicide in which women use the gel daily instead of only at the time of sex. Up to 5,000 women will be enrolled in Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and possibly Malawi. They will be randomly assigned to one of five groups: two will apply gel - either tenofovir or placebo - and three will take tablets - either tenofovir, Truvada or a placebo, for an average of 22. 5 months. The study is led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), based at the University of Pittsburgh and Magee-Womens Research Institute.
