BWH receives $140M grant from NIAID to support ongoing research led by AIDS Clinical Trial Group

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded two seven-year grants to Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) to fund the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) Network. The grants support the ACTG's Leadership and Operations Center (LOC) and Laboratory Center (LC). The funding totals $20 million annually or $140 million over seven years.

"The work accomplished by the ACTG over the last quarter century has had a profound impact on the wellbeing of persons living with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis," said Daniel Kuritzkes, MD, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at BWH, principal investigator and chair of the ACTG.. "Results of ACTG trials have helped establish the paradigm for the management of HIV disease and form the basis of current treatment guidelines in the US and internationally. This progress has resulted in dramatic reductions in AIDS mortality across the globe. These accomplishments have been accelerated by an innovative alliance of academic, government and industry scientists, clinicians, regulatory agencies and community advocates. We are delighted that NIAID has provided us the opportunity to continue this important work over the next seven years."

The ACTG is an international consortium of clinical research sites conducting clinical trials in HIV-infected adults to test novel therapeutic interventions focused on HIV-associated inflammation and resulting end-organ disease, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and HIV cure.

The continued funding underscores how Ed Perlmutter, 65, an ACTG study participant, feels about the importance of this work. Perlmutter joined the ACTG in 2006 when he was diagnosed with HIV.

"The first study I participated in helped to determine what antiretroviral drugs worked best in my patient population. I knew, after that study ended, that I directly helped other people with HIV determine what drugs would be best for them," he explained.

The ACTG has had many achievements over the years, some highlights include: enrolling more than 25,000 participants into 85 clinical trials in the US and in resource-limited settings around the world, developing a laboratory infrastructure to conduct clinical trials of TB and multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB in resource-limited settings, conducting trials comparing various antiretroviral drug regimens that form the cornerstones of current guidelines and standards of clinical management of HIV-1 infection, proving that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in patients starting treatment for tuberculosis improves survival in patients with advanced AIDS, and many more.

Approximately 50 Clinical Research Sites (CRS) domestically and internationally will receive additional funding from NIAID to conduct trials designed and implemented by the ACTG investigators and collaborators from around the world. The international CRSs are located primarily in resource-limited settings, including the Caribbean, South America, Africa and Asia.