[Press Kit, International Conference on AIDS (13th : 2000 : Durban, South Africa)]

WOMEN'S DEMAND FOR MICROBICIbES
Who Will Use Them?
A persistent obstacle to microbicide research and development has been the question: Would
women use microbicides? Large pharmaceutical companies have been reluctant to invest in
microbicides because they don't perceive a large enough market to be profitable. Even within
the public sector, some professionals express doubts that women would be significantly more
willing to use a microbicide than they are to use a male or female condom. Although the absence
of an actual product makes it difficult to predict the exact extent to which women will use
microbicides, research from various countries document's women's enthusiasm for a womancontrolled alternative, their willingness-to-pay, and their preferences among various
formulations. This knowledge can inform ongoing research and product development. It also
demonstrates that there is indeed market demand and addresses the myths and misperceptions
about women's interest in microbicides.
MYTH: Only poor women in developing countries would use microbicides.
FACT: While women in developing countries are in desperate need of a prevention product that they
control, they are by no means the only ones. A phone survey of 1,000 sexually active women aged
18-44 in the United States estimated that there are 21.3 million U.S. women interested in a
microbicidal product.1 An eleven-country study conducted by the European Union found that 25% of
urban French women interviewed thought a microbicide would be "very useful."2
MYTH: The microbicide market would be comparable to the spermicide market in the U.S., about $40
million.
FACT: The spermicide-microbicide analogy is flawed for many reasons. The spermicide market is
small because women have access to many other effective options for pregnancy prevention; for
disease prevention, the only competing alternative is condoms. The potential market for a dual-acting
method-one that offers disease prevention in addition to effective pregnancy protection-is yet
untapped. Moreover, no significant improvements have been made to existing spermicides in the last
thirty years. New products could be formulated to be less messy and more "user-friendly," thereby
increasing their acceptability among users.
MYTH: The people who most need microbicides wouldn't be able to afford them.
FACT: The EU study showed that even in resource-poor countries, women at risk were willing to pay
up to five times the local price of a condom for a prevention method they controlled. Sixty-eight
percent of women interviewed in Kenya were willing to pay twice as much for a microbicide as for a
condom; this proportion was 58% in Brazil and 13% in France.3 A study conducted with middle and
lower-class women in Brazil showed almost half were willing to pay up to $5.00 per application, 15%
up to $3.00, and 30%, $1.00.4 While it is true that in the U.S., higher interest is expressed by poorer
women, these same women also perceive themselves to be at higher risks, and in greater need of a
Darroch, JE and JJ Frost. 1999. Women's Interest in Vaginal Microbicides. Family Planning Perspectives 31:1, 16-23.
2 EU HIV/AIDS Programme in Developing Countries. 1998. A study into the market potential for vaqinal microbicides. For more info call
Bob Hill, ([phone], email [email protected].
3 ibid.
4 Hardy E, de Padua KS, Osis MJD, Jimenez AL, Zaneveld LJD. 1998. Women's Preferences for Vaginal Antimicrobial Contraceptives IV:

Attributes of a Formulation That Would Protect From STD/AIDS. Contraception 58:251-55.
5 Darroch & Frost, 1999.
Global Campaign for STI/HIV Prevention Alternatives for Women, Takoma Park, MD, July 2000. For info. contact [email protected]