September 22, 2017
Clinical trials for new HIV prevention methods offer participants counseling and access to the existing ways to protect oneself from HIV. It’s called the “standard of prevention” and is a package of prevention methods and services.
Now that oral PrEP is a proven HIV prevention method and WHO-recommended, some trials are adding it to the package. And that makes trials more complex. That’s a good problem to have, says Slim Abdool Karim, the director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa, also known as CAPRISA. As the co-principal investigator of the landmark CAPRISA 004 tenofovir gel study and the recipient of multiple awards for his research, Karim brings incomparable perspective to this question. In this interview with AVAC’s Jeanne Baron, Karim talks about why designing trials with oral PrEP is a must—scientifically and ethically.
This interview is part of an ongoing series, and look out for our upcoming podcast—Px Pulse, which will feature interviews and discussions that explore vital topics in HIV Prevention research today. Tell us what you think!
Click on the links below to learn more about PrEP and standard of prevention in trials: