Daré Bioscience receives $1M NIH funding for HPV treatment

Daré Bioscience Inc. (NASDAQ: DARE) received a $1 million award notice from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, bringing total NIH funding for its investigational HPV treatment DARE-HPV to $2 million.

The funding represents the second and final tranche under a previously announced NIAID grant supporting development of DARE-HPV, a treatment for persistent high-risk human papillomavirus infection. The award covers the project period from December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026.

The company initiated a Phase 2 clinical study of DARE-HPV on May 18, marking what it describes as the first time women with persistent high-risk HPV infection may access this pharmacologic treatment in a clinical trial setting. The randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial will evaluate safety and antiviral activity in approximately 100 women over a 21-day treatment course, with results expected in 2027.

DARE-HPV is a vaginal insert formulation of lopinavir and ritonavir, protease inhibitors with established antiviral activity. The treatment targets high-risk HPV infection, which causes virtually all cervical cancer cases in the United States. An estimated 6 million women annually in the U.S. experience high-risk HPV infection, for which no FDA-approved pharmacologic treatments currently exist.

The NIH grant supports non-clinical activities for DARE-HPV development. The company also receives funding through an ARPA-H contract worth up to $10 million that supports the Phase 2 study.

Daré's investigational new drug application for DARE-HPV received FDA clearance in February 2026. If successful and approved, the treatment could become the first FDA-approved pharmacologic treatment for HPV infection.

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