Who is working on microbicide research and development?
Virtually all microbicide research to date has been conducted by non-profit and academic institutions or small biotech companies. Studies are funded by charitable foundations and government grants. These public funds also support basic science, social and behavioural research, and clinical trial infrastructure that contribute to microbicide research and development. Large pharmaceutical companies have not invested significantly in this field, primarily because microbicides are a classic “public health good” which would yield tremendous benefits to society but for which the profit incentive to private investment is low.
