The promise of public/private sector collaboration in the development of vaginal microbicides.

This paper describes the efforts of the public sector, primarily the CONRAD Program and its Consortium for Industrial Collaboration in Contraceptive Research (CICCR), to work with industry in the development of vaginal microbicides for the prevention of transmission of STDs including HIV. The results of a meeting on this topic held in Durham, NC, USA in October 1998, as well as market surveys, are also included. The projects described illustrate the opportunities for collaboration and the resulting progress.