The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received USD 1.1 million in first-year funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop a subcutaneous injectable depot designed to simultaneously prevent HIV transmission and unplanned pregnancy, representing one of the more clinically targeted HIV prevention funding announcements among NIH grants 2026. The award, issued April 17, 2026 under the R61 activity code, supports preclinical translation of an in-situ forming implant platform toward an investigational new drug application.
Principal investigator Soumya Rahima Benhabbour and colleagues in the university's Department of Biomedical Engineering are developing a liquid formulation that, upon subcutaneous injection, undergoes phase transition to form a biodegradable depot capable of releasing antiretroviral and contraceptive agents over an extended period.
The program focuses on a biodegradable depot that forms after injection and releases both an antiretroviral agent and a contraceptive over several months, addressing a limitation of current long-acting formulations that cannot deliver combination therapies in a single dose. Preclinical work will include pharmacokinetics and safety studies in rodent and non-human primate models, alongside manufacturing scale-up and preparation for a pre-IND meeting.