NEW YORK, NY (June 21, 2018) – A new Phase I study of the Population Council’s multipurpose prevention technology (MPT) gel PC-1005, launching this week, will examine the safety of the gel when used rectally by both men and women. If proven effective, PC-1005 gel would be the first product to prevent three incurable sexually transmitted infections (STIs)—HIV, herpes simplex virus (HSV), and human papillomavirus (HPV)—when used either vaginally or rectally. 

The Population Council mourns the passing of Henry L. King, a renowned attorney and former trustee of the Population Council. King died on Monday, June 18 at the age of 90.

The Center for Global Development and the Population Council co-hosted a high-level discussion on emerging insights from the DREAMS initiative, an ambitious partnership to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in 10 sub-Saharan African countries.  Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Girl Effect, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through Project SOAR, the Population Council leads the DREAMS implementation science and capacity building portfolios.

In a blog post at the Maternal Health Task Force, Ann Blanc, Vice President of Social and Behavioral Science Research at the Population Council, makes a powerful case for why investing in high-quality research matters, now more than ever.

In a blog post for FHI 360’s Contraceptive Technology Innovation Exchange, Julia Bunting, President of the Population Council, and Laneta Dorflinger, Distinguished Scientist and Director for Contraceptive Technology, outline what needs to be done to increase access to the broadest choice of quality, affordable, and acceptable contraceptives.

This summer, the Population Council's Nestorone®/Testosterone transdermal gel, a new topical gel that blocks sperm production, will begin a Phase IIb clinical trial. The trial will start in the U.S. before being expanded to Britain, Italy, Sweden, Chile, and Kenya.

Council researcher Nanlesta Pilgrim writes about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s recent decision to expand the approval of Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV for use in at-risk adolescents and the continued need to improve services for adolescents, in the U.S. and around the world. 

In a blog post for FHI 360’s Contraceptive Technology Innovation Exchange, the Council’s Saumya RamaRao, senior associate, and Loreley Villamide-Herrera, biomedical program manager, highlight the latest advances in the novel drug delivery platform of vaginal rings.

In response to the New York Times editorial about new efforts in the U.S. to promote debunked abstinence-only education, Population Council Senior Associate Nicole Haberland pens a letter to the editor about what the data actually show about sex education effectiveness.

In an op-ed in STAT News, Regine Sitruk-Ware, Distinguished Scientist at Population Council, highlights the latest advancements in male contraceptive research and dispels common misconceptions about the future of male birth control.