Indian student develops molecular condom to prevent AIDS
WASHINGTON, 31. October: The University of Utah in the US is working on deals with four Indian companies for commercialisation of cutting edge anti-HIV and contraceptive delivery products including a molecular condom developed by an Indian student.
Developed by Kavita Madanlal Gupta, an international student from India currently working toward a Ph.D. in bioengineering, and Patrick Kiser, an assistant professor of bioengineering at the university, the condom will be commercialised through a partnership with Indias Pregna International.
Microbicides, such as the microbicidal molecular condom developed by Gupta, are seen as a way for women to gain power by protecting themselves from HIV, the university said Tuesday.
Pregna and the university will together work on this and a variety of other technologies, which have the potential to provide humanitarian aid to the people of India.
The partnership between the University of Utah and Pregna International, a world leader in contraceptive manufacturing located in Mumbai (Bombay), will focus on the commercialisation of cutting edge anti-HIV and contraceptive delivery products for the Indian marketplace, it said.
– There are over two-million individuals living with HIV/AIDS in India today with 84 percent of the infections resulting from sexual transmission of the virus, said Kiser.
– The universitys portfolio of innovative technologies coupled with the product development experience of Pregna could help the control of the spread of this devastating disease, he noted, adding:
– This partnership will give the university a chance to place their technologies in the hands of people that need them most and will enhance the value of our technologies in the developed world.
Kilde: The Push Journal
