PRO 2000 is an experimental

vaginal microbicide A vaginal microbicide is a microbicide for vaginal use. Most commonly such a product would be a topical gel or cream inserted into the vagina so that it may treat some infection in the vagina, such as types of vaginitis. Along with rectal microbi ...

which has been proposed as a

preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

for reducing the risk of contracting

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

. It has never been recommended as an effective medicine to be used for any purpose. Some

clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

have shown that under some conditions it may provide some protection against HIV.

History

Endo Pharmaceuticals Endo International plc is an American Irish-domiciled generics and specialty branded pharmaceutical company that generated over 93% of its 2017 sales from the U.S. healthcare system. While Endo's management, operations, and customers are almost ...

manufactures the drug.

Efficacy

Animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...

studies done on

macaques The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principal ...

have shown that PRO 2000 is effective in preventing the transmission of HIV. Other studies have given supportive evidence that the product is safe in humans and would be an appropriate candidate for testing. A

phase III clinical trial The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...

of 9385 women in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

showed that PRO 2000 was not effective in preventing transmission of HIV.

References

{{Microbicides for sexually transmitted diseases Microbicides