What about MPTs? Looking back at 2020, looking ahead to 2021

This past year has been an exceptionally challenging one, with the devastating coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and other global crises affecting populations around the world. While recognizing the tremendous loss and setbacks that these crises have caused, here at the Initiative for Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (IMPT) we have also been deeply inspired by humanity’s resilience, solidarity, […]

Just Released: Updated MPT Product Development Database

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 […]

Forward progress and future goals: End of the year reflections from the IMPT

The IMPT offices are always a buzz with activity during the months of November and December. Giving Tuesday, World AIDS Day, as well as general end-of-the year wrap ups—it is a reminder that for organizations like ours, this time of year is a time for increased activism, awareness, and reflection. This year, as the IMPT […]

An ArcGIS Mapping Tool to Identify MPT Target Populations

In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women are at the highest risk of acquiring HIV. However, as this is a heterogeneous population, the characteristics of these women can vary greatly. A one-size-fits-all approach simply will not work. In order for MPTs to have the greatest impact, approaches must be tailored to the populations where […]

MEET THE SECRETARIAT STAFF | Bethany Young Holt, IMPT Director

The Initiative for MPTs (IMPT) is dedicated to advancing the comprehensive sexual and reproductive health of women and girls worldwide. The Secretariat staff, who manage this global learning network, comprise a group of women who have worked a combined eight decades in the women’s health and sexual and reproductive health fields. From working with underserved […]

FROM THE PIPELINE | Evofem Biosciences to advance the MPT market with Amphora®

Evofem Biosciences’ lead product candidate, Amphora® is an MPT – more specifically, a Multipurpose Vaginal pH Regulator (MVP-RTM) – that is being developed for the prevention of pregnancy and certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including chlamydia and gonorrhea. Amphora is a non-hormonal, acid-buffering vaginal gel designed to regulate a woman’s vaginal pH to within the […]

IMPT Advisory Council: Pioneers for an HIV-free world and more

Every four minutes, three young women will become infected with HIV—that’s close to 900,000 new infections a year. While HIV prevention research and drug development have progressed rapidly, there is still work to be done. This World AIDS Day, we reflect on our work to advance MPTs by asking the IMPT Advisory Council for their […]

FROM THE PIPELINE | Yaso Therapeutics Yaso-GEL promises to prevent pregnancy and STIs and fill an unmet need in the market

We at Yaso Therapeutics are developing a vaginal gel, called Yaso-GEL, that uses a single proprietary drug to prevent pregnancy as well as genital herpes, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. The gel is mucoadhesive, non-irritating, relatively low-cost, and stable. Yaso-GEL aims to be an MPT that can fill the need for non-hormonal contraceptives and protect women from […]

FROM THE PIPELINE | Taking on a challenge – How an ambitious engineering goal led to an innovative MPT for HIV, HSV, and unintended pregnancy

It all started with the simple realization that women seeking protection against HIV also want to prevent unintended pregnancies. In general, they also prefer a combined method. Then followed the innovation challenge: Engineer a long-acting intravaginal ring that could release two chemically diverse drugs – one for HIV and herpes simplex virus (HSV) prevention, and one […]