Daré Bioscience Secures New Patent for DARE-HPV Treatment

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 28, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Daré Bioscience has announced the issuance of a new U.S. patent that strengthens its intellectual property foundation for DARE-HPV, a potential first-in-category treatment for persistent high-risk HPV infection. The patent covers pharmaceutical compositions containing lopinavir and ritonavir for the treatment of HPV-related cervical pathologies and includes claims directed to compositions for treating or inhibiting the development of early-stage neoplasias and for treating or preventing HPV-related cervical neoplasias. This patent is expected to provide protection into at least 2039.

DARE-HPV is an investigational, proprietary fixed-dose formulation of lopinavir and ritonavir in a soft gel vaginal insert, designed to address a significant unmet need in women’s health. The treatment is being developed as a non-surgical, localized, self-administered therapy to clear persistent high-risk HPV infection. There are currently no FDA-approved pharmacologic treatments for HPV infection, making DARE-HPV a potential breakthrough in the field.

The company is currently evaluating DARE-HPV in a Phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study involving approximately 100 women with confirmed persistent high-risk HPV infection (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07601074). The study is designed to evaluate the safety and antiviral activity of lower and higher doses of DARE-HPV compared with placebo over an up to 21-day course of daily treatment, with HPV clearance at three months post-treatment as the primary endpoint. Topline results from this study are expected in 2027.

Daré Bioscience’s development of DARE-HPV is supported by approximately $10 million in non-dilutive funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as a Sprint for Women’s Health awardee, and a $2.0 million award granted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (Award Number R44AI188623).

This patent adds another important layer to the foundation we are building around DARE-HPV at a particularly exciting point in the program’s development, Johnson added. The company is focused on closing the gap in women’s health between promising science and real-world solutions, and DARE-HPV is a key part of that mission.