Preventive RNAi-based Microbicide to Inhibit HIV Transmission in the Vaginal Mucosa

With annually ~1.5 million new HIV infections worldwide, the HIV/AIDS pandemic remains a significant global health burden [1]. While antiretroviral therapy is highly effective to manage and slow down disease progression, a preventive effective vaccine to control the pandemic remains elusive [2]. Currently available preventive strategies such as the use of condoms, and HIV pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis are effective, but the lack of compliance remains challenging [3-5]. To end the HIV/AIDS pandemic, these existing treatment and prevention modalities need to be combined with an effective preventive vaccine, which is not available yet [5].