If approved, the new compounds will appear in cream form, and would be applied like a vaginal spermicide. They could also be used to prevent pregnant women who are sexually active from infecting their babies. Human clinical trials will begin before the end of the year, D'Cruz says. The contraceptive gel that may someday carry D'Cruz's new microbicides could be developed with the help of a Duke University team, which is also presenting its findings at the conference. To do that, a gel needs to coat the entire surface of the vagina, not just the cervix, as spermicides do now.
Human trials are underway to see what happens to the various formulas once they're applied.
So far, they've determined that different gels, with different ingredients, do behave differently inside the vagina. Another positive development is Levonorgestrel, a better tolerated, more effective emergency contraception pill that was recently approved by the FDA and is now available through some family planning clinics. Planned Parenthood clinics are already distributing it, and it should be on the open market soon. That pleases the Guttmacher Institute's Susan Tews. If there were more choices, more couples could find one that they like, instead of not using one at all.