December 23, 2020
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, […]
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 […]
December 19, 2019
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 […]
November 20, 2019
In 1960, FDA approval of the first hormonal contraceptive—more commonly known as “the pill”—revolutionized sexual and reproductive health, giving women unprecedented control over their fertility for the first time in history. Today, there are a range of contraceptive products available to women across the globe. Of the over 30 MPTs in the product development pipeline, […]
July 22, 2019
Imagine if women could take one pill every day and be protected from unintended pregnancy AND HIV? And what if this pill was available within several years? We believe the fastest route to a contraceptive MPT is to combine two products that are ALREADY ON THE MARKET into a single pill. A dual-purpose pill has […]
June 20, 2019
As an HIV tester and counselor during my university days and beyond, I learned very quickly that most people have more pressing issues to deal with in their lives than HIV prevention. At at Oberlin College, I often saw clients shortly after an unprotected sexual encounter. For most, condom use to protect against HIV and […]
March 26, 2019
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 […]
December 1, 2018
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 […]
October 16, 2018
HIV prevention has come to the forefront of youth activism and public health advocacy, as young people aged 15-24 account for 35% of new HIV infections worldwide. In fact, as we work to curb the HIV epidemic, they are the only age group to experience a recent increase in HIV infections. Young people are disproportionately […]
September 24, 2018
The field of MPTs that combine hormonal contraception (HC) and antiretroviral drugs for HIV prevention has made substantial progress in the past several years. There are two such MPTs in phase I clinical trials: 1) IPM’s dapivirine and levonorgestrel intravaginal ring and 2) CONRAD’s tenofovir and levonorgestrel intravaginal ring – with several other HC + […]