Microbicide Policy Update

 

Alliance for Microbicide Development - June 2008

Microbicide advocates have long sought establishment of a separate Microbicide Branch at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in order to bring greater focus to NIH’s efforts to facilitate development of safe and effective microbicides. In May, Dr. Roberta Black was named Chief of the newly-constituted Microbicide Research Branch within the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID).   The appointment of Dr. Black -- who began working at DAIDS in 1989 and became the Team Leader for Microbicides within the Prevention Sciences Branch in 2004 -- is a significant and welcome step forward for NIH’s microbicide program.  The establishment of a Microbicide Research Branch within DAIDS is one of several key elements of the Microbicide Development Act (MDA), which was first introduced in Congress in 2000. Advocates are hopeful that the House and perhaps the Senate will pass this important piece of legislation before Congress adjourns this year. 

Passage of the MDA remains important because it would congressionally authorize the NIH Microbicide Branch and provide a statement of support, and let NIH know that this research is a priority, and that congressional oversight is in place, and help sustain institutional commitment and allocation of a reasonable and steady level of resources for microbicide research. The MDA would also facilitate true coordination of scientific research and clinical testing of microbicides among the three federal agencies that undertake microbicide research: the NIH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The MDA has 18 co-sponsors in the Senate and 78 in the House of Representatives.