The third phase of clinical trials - the last stage before possible US government approval - will be conducted in India and the African countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Uganda and South Africa.
Half of the funding for Eastern Virginia Medical School came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the other half from the US Agency for International Development, which already is paying for final trials in Nigeria.
The vaginal microbiocide gel, Ushercell, is manufactured by Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited, a publicly traded Canadian company.