Marseille 2007
Marseille 2007
Abstract book
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Abstract #371  -  Further than the moon ? The evolution of requirements for the implementation of microbicides.
Session:
  6.67: Posters A (Poster) on Monday   in  Chaired by
Authors:
  Presenting Author:   Dr Genevieve Paicheler - CNRS, France
 
  Additional Authors:  Dr Ilana LOWY,  
Aim:
The aim of this study is to display the obstacles in research on microbicides, and to investigate how these obstacles emerged during the construction of a organized field of scientific inquiry. Our contention is that the complexity of the scientific and ethical questions tackled by these researches augmented rapidly in the last few years, making investigations in this domain increasingly difficult.
 
Method / Issue:
This study compares three sets of programmatic texts issued in 2000 (The case for microbicides), 2002 (A series of publications of the Rockefeller Foundation), and 2006 (The Microbicides Strategy). All of them are the result of numerous meetings and debates between the different stakeholders (scientists, advocates, research organizers, fund providers). The analysis will take into account the organization of the texts and scrutinize the lexical and thematic aspects.
 
Results / Comments:
When the research on microbicides as HIV preventing tools had started, the contention was that if it has been possible to send men on the moon, it will be also possible, and probably easier, to find topical products that protect women from HIV sexual transmission. The early promoters of this field believed that the main problem was the generation of sufficient amount of interest and funding. However, with rapid extension of research on microbicides, it seems that the compounds themselves are getting closer to ARV or sophisticated pharmacological formulations. It appears plausible today that simpler microbicides, or those with unknown mode of action will be abandoned. They will be replaced by "high tech" microbicides, tested in rigorously designed randomized clinical trials (RCT). By consequence, issues raised by the search for an efficient microbicide become increasingly similar to those raised during the search for an anti-HIV vaccine. Moreover, the number of elements considered as well established shrinks rapidly, while researchers continue to grapple with the designation of unknown parameters that need to be investigated in order to rationally design an efficient product.
 
Discussion:
Our research will be focused on the following questions: - What choices have been made to promote scientific research on microbicides and implementation of these products? - -Which aspects of development of microbicides have been emphasized and which have been left aside ? - Are there tensions between scientific requirements and the urgency of broadening the range of prevention tools ? - Are RCTs the only ways to prove the efficacy of microbicides in real life conditions ?
 
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