HIV trial doomed by design, say critics

摘要

Controversy over a ground-breaking study of an experimental HIV prevention tool has underscored the field's need to revamp its approach to clinical trials. On 23 May, researchers at the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) began a US$13.5-million study to test whether a microbicide gel containing the antiretroviral drug tenofovir prevents women from becoming infected with HIV during sex. The trial, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is the first to test a so-called second-generation microbicide - one that specifically targets the AIDS virus.