AIDS Clinical Trials Group

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The AIDS Clinical Trials Group network (ACTG) is one of the largest HIV clinical trials organizations in the world, playing a major role in setting standards of care for HIV infection and opportunistic diseases related to HIV and AIDS in the United States and the developing world. The ACTG is composed of, and directed by, leading clinical scientists in HIV/AIDS therapeutic research. The ACTG is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Contents

Mission

Through innovative studies of the treatment of HIV-1 infection and its complications, ACTG research focuses on:

History

The ACTG has been pivotal[ citation needed ] in providing the data necessary for the approval of therapeutic agents, as well as treatment and prevention strategies, for many opportunistic infections and malignancies.

In 1986, the original AIDS Treatment and Evaluation Units were established by the National Institutes of Health.
In 1987, the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) was established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In 1991, the ACTG divided its focus into two groups and created the Adult ACTG (AACTG) and the Pediatric ACTG (PACTG).
In 1995 the AACTG restructured and created a true self-governing structure, with self-evaluation of sites, priority setting of scientific research, discretionary spending. The PACTG became its own group and an AIDS Malignancy Consortium was established under the National Cancer Institute.
In 1999 the AACTG applied for continued funding as an investigator led and run group
In 2000, the AACTG began the planning and development of international research initiatives in the developing world.
In 2005, the ACTG opened its first multinational AIDS clinical trial in 16 sites around the globe “A Phase IV, Prospective, Randomized, Open-Label Evaluation of the Efficacy of Once-Daily PI & Once-Daily Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor - Containing Therapy Combinations for Initial Treatment of HIV-1 Infected individuals from Resource - Limited Settings (PEARLS) Trial”, the results of which suggested men and women respond to antiretroviral drugs differently. [1]
In 2006, the network was funded as one of the six NIAID-funded HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks. [2]

Scientific accomplishments

Strategies for sequencing of regimens or enhancing their activity
Evaluation of approaches to salvage therapy
Evaluation of novel immune-based therapies using interferons, GM-CSF, G-CSF, thalidomide, IL-2, IL-12, cyclosporin (CsA), prednisone, cytotoxic agents, therapeutic immunization
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
Cytomegalovirus retinitis
Cryptococcal meningitis
Toxoplasmic encephalitis
Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
Histoplasmosis
Herpes virus infections
Mycobacterium avium complex disease
Tuberculosis

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stavudine</span> Chemical compound

Stavudine (d4T), sold under the brand name Zerit among others, is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretrovirals. It may be used for prevention after a needlestick injury or other potential exposure. However, it is not a first-line treatment. It is given by mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamivudine</span> Chemical compound

Lamivudine, commonly called 3TC, is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is also used to treat chronic hepatitis B when other options are not possible. It is effective against both HIV-1 and HIV-2. It is typically used in combination with other antiretrovirals such as zidovudine, dolutegravir, and abacavir. Lamivudine may be included as part of post-exposure prevention in those who have been potentially exposed to HIV. Lamivudine is taken by mouth as a liquid or tablet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevirapine</span> Chemical compound

Nevirapine (NVP), sold under the brand name Viramune among others, is a medication used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS, specifically HIV-1. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretroviral medications. It may be used to prevent mother to child spread during birth but is not recommended following other exposures. It is taken by mouth.

This is a list of AIDS-related topics, many of which were originally taken from the public domain U.S. Department of Health Glossary of HIV/AIDS-Related Terms, 4th Edition.

The Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (DAIDS) is a division of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. It was formed in 1986 as a part of the initiative to address the national research needs created by the advent and spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Specifically, the Division's mission is to increase basic knowledge of the pathogenesis, natural history, and transmission of HIV disease and to support research that promotes progress in its detection, treatment, and prevention. DAIDS accomplishes this through planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating programs in (1) fundamental basic research, (2) discovery and development of therapies for HIV infection and its complications, and (3) discovery and development of vaccines and other prevention strategies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raltegravir</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etravirine</span> Also called Intelence is a drug used for the treatment of HIV

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvucitabine</span> Medication

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV disease–related drug reaction</span>

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Non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) are antiretroviral drugs used in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). NNRTIs inhibit reverse transcriptase (RT), an enzyme that controls the replication of the genetic material of HIV. RT is one of the most popular targets in the field of antiretroviral drug development.

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Deborah Persaud is a Guyanese-born American virologist who primarily works on HIV/AIDS at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islatravir</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert T. Schooley</span> American infectious disease physician

Robert "Chip" T. Schooley is an American infectious disease physician, who is the Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, Senior Director of International Initiatives, and Co-Director at the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH), at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. He is an expert in HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) infection and treatment, and in 2016, was the first physician to treat a patient in the United States with intravenous bacteriophage therapy for a systemic bacterial infection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabotegravir/rilpivirine</span> Co-packaged antiretroviral medication

Cabotegravir/rilpivirine, sold under the brand name Cabenuva, is a co-packaged antiretroviral medication for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. It contains cabotegravir and rilpivirine in a package with two separate injection vials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Flexner</span> American physician and pharmaceutical scientist

Charles Williams Flexner is an American physician, clinical pharmaceutical scientist, academic, author and researcher. He is a Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsulfavirine</span> Chemical compound

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References

  1. Campbell, T. B.; Smeaton, L. M.; Kumarasamy, N.; Flanigan, T.; Klingman, K. L.; Firnhaber, C.; Grinsztejn, B.; Hosseinipour, M. C.; Kumwenda, J.; Lalloo, U.; Riviere, C.; Sanchez, J.; Melo, M.; Supparatpinyo, K.; Tripathy, S.; Martinez, A. I.; Nair, A.; Walawander, A.; Moran, L.; Chen, Y.; Snowden, W.; Rooney, J. F.; Uy, J.; Schooley, R. T.; De Gruttola, V.; Hakim, J. G.; for the PEARLS study team of the ACTG and PEARLS study team of the ACTGG (2012). Deeks, Steven G (ed.). "Efficacy and Safety of Three Antiretroviral Regimens for Initial Treatment of HIV-1: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Diverse Multinational Settings". PLOS Medicine. 9 (8): e1001290. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001290. PMC   3419182 . PMID   22936892.
  2. "Q & A: Leadership for the Newly Reorganized NIAID HIV/AIDS". niaid.nih.gov. June 29, 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2012.

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