The development of a contraceptive that protects against both sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy in the form of a vaginal ring was announced at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' annual meeting.
Similar to the existent NuvaRing contraceptive, the new vaginal ring is inserted into the vagina and lasts up to 90 days. The vaginal ring would prevent pregnancy by releasing levonorgestrel, a hormonal contraceptive. The ring would also prevent against sexually transmitted diseases by releasing tenofovir, an antiretroviral that has been proven to prevent replication of HIV and herpes.
Head of drug delivery, Dr. Meredith Clark, PhD, explains the benefits and risks of the new contraceptive, as well as when the human trials are set to begin.
A New Contraceptive with Added STD Protection? Yes!
A new contraceptive is on the horizon that will protect against both sexually transmitted diseases AND pregnancy.
Additional Info
- Segment Number: 4
- Audio File: staying_well/1349sw1b.mp3
- Featured Speaker: Meredith Clark, PhD
- Organization: CONRAD
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Guest Bio:
Dr. Clark is Manager, Drug Delivery at CONRAD and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
She is responsible for monitoring the formulation development and preclinical testing of pipeline products for Product Development at CONRAD.
The scope of projects she helps oversee includes the development of intravaginal rings and other vaginal drug delivery systems intended to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancy.
Dr. Clark received her B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior from the University of California, Davis in 2001 and her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Utah in 2008. - Length (mins): 10
- Waiver Received: Yes
- Host: Melanie Cole, MS
Published in
Staying Well