Just Released: Updated MPT Product Development Database
Published: September 2, 2020
The IMPT recently released its updated MPT Product Development Database. The IMPT Secretariat conducted the annual update process between February and June of 2020 and launched the updated database in July 2020.
Resources used to update the database included: product developer updates, published peer-reviewed literature, relevant scientific conferences, and publicly available funding data.
The following benchmarks were used as inclusion criteria: availability of preclinical or clinical test results suggestive of efficacy for two or more indications (pregnancy, HIV prevention, other STI prevention). Additionally, as of 2020, for a product to be included in the database it must be in active development and have current funding. Per suggestions from MPT stakeholders, product developers were requested to report on specific funding mechanisms. This information was added to the database for each product in order to better reflect the status of the product development landscape. The database is also updated on a rolling basis throughout the year when the Secretariat is informed of MPT updates. Click here to learn more about our updated inclusion criteria and methodology.
As of June 2020, there are 24 MPT product candidates in the searchable database. Key findings regarding the current pipeline:
- Most of the product candidates are in pre-clinical stages of development (16), with a smaller number in clinical trials (8) and only two in late clinical stages (III or IV) of development.
- Over half of the product candidates combine contraception and HIV prevention (14), while many also combine contraception or HIV prevention with non-HIV anti-infective indications (e.g. HSV-2, chlamydia) (16). A smaller subset of products combine HIV and other STI prevention without contraception (7).
- There are a number of non-hormonal contraceptive (nonHC) MPTs in pre-clinical or clinical development (7).
- The range of delivery methods continues to shift, and currently includes the following: intravaginal rings (IRVs), fast dissolving inserts, vaginal and rectal gels, vaginal films, pills, patches, and implants.
The IMPT celebrates the innovation and increasing diversity of options that characterize the current MPT pipeline, and recognizes this as an exciting time for the field. We also acknowledge finite resources and technical challenges that can act as roadblocks to advancing promising pre-clinical products through the pipeline to clinical stages of development. This can be observed in the proportion of the pipeline that is in pre-clinical development compared to clinical stages, particularly late clinical stages. To see our recommendations for addressing this gap, visit the commentary published in the Contraceptive Special Issue of the journal Biology of Reproduction that we co-authored with the WHO, FHI 360, Magee-Women’s Research Institute and Foundation, the University of Pittsburgh, and UCSF.
The IMPT Secretariat also updated the downloadable MPT Product Pipeline Table organized by indication combination and added a new table organized by delivery method. Additionally, the updated MPT Database landing page now also features a menu of MPT product types, organized by delivery method, that are easy to browse. As always, the database homepage still features a feedback button where we invite our partners and colleagues to share new and updated product information that is not listed.
Your active engagement with the database is vital to ensuring that it remains an important and up-to-date resource for informing progress in the MPT field, with the ultimate goal of accelerating women’s access to a range of comprehensive prevention options.