CENTER FOR THE AIDS PROGRAMME OF RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA

CAPRISA Statement on the interim tenofovir gel results in the VOICE trial
The announcement that the VOICE (Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic) study did not demonstrate protection against HIV in women prescribed daily tenofovir gel is a grave disappointment to CAPRISA. Professor Salim Abdool Karim, Director of CAPRISA, and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, who is a site investigator in the VOICE trial, said that “These results were totally unexpected as there is good evidence from laboratory research, animal studies and human trials showing that tenofovir gel prevents HIV. However, science does not always produce the answer we hope for. This is particularly pertinent when a drug’s effectiveness is dependent on a complex combination of the biological activity of the drug and the human behaviour influencing use of the drug as prescribed during the study. I look forward to seeing the complete results and, in particular, an analysis of whether the drug levels in the female genital tract provides any clues to the study’s outcome.”