An intravaginal ring for the sustained delivery of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate

Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) may prevent HIV infection in a significant number of HIV-1 negative individuals in venerable populations; however, trial efficacy has been highly variable, with notable successes and failures. Poor adherence to PrEP regimens has been implicated as a primary factor in determining efficacy of these trials. With the exception of CAPRISA 004 where use of a pericoital tenofovir gel led to a 39% reduction in HIV infection, all successful PrEP regimens to date have used the fumarate salt of the tenofovir disoproxil ester prodrug of tenofovir (TDF) alone or in combination with emtricitabine (FTC). A sustained-release, intravaginal ring (IVR) formulation of TDF holds promise for improving adherence and, thus, increasing the effectiveness of PrEP. Here, a novel IVR delivering TDF with sustained zero-order release characteristics that may be controlled over nearly two orders of magnitude is described. Pod-IVRs containing 1-10 pods delivering TDF at 0.01-10 mg d−1 were fabricated and their release characteristics evaluated in vitro. The pod-IVRs stabilized TDF against hydrolytic degradation both in storage and during in vitro release experiments. Successful translation of the TDF pod-IVR from laboratory evaluation to large-scale clinical trials requires the ability to manufacture the devices at low cost and in high quantity. Methods for manufacturing and scale-up were developed and applied to pilot-scale production of TDF pod-IVRs that maintained the IVR's release characteristics while significantly decreasing the variability in release rate observed between pod-IVRs. This pod-IVR enables for the first time the dose-ranging clinical studies that are required to optimize topical TDF PrEP in terms of efficacy and safety.

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