NIAID Announces Renewal of Funding for Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Group
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on Thursday announced that it was extending funding for the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group by $36 million over five years, an agency release states. The funding will continue to support 18 university-based clinical trial sites, a statistical and data management center and a coordinating and operations center. The grants will also support clinical research into HIV's effects in children at four international sites -- two in South Africa and two in Thailand. PACTG will also refocus its research efforts to emphasize five "key" areas: perinatal transmission, pediatric treatment, adolescent treatment, long-term evaluation of antiretroviral therapies and domestic and international collaborations. PACTG has been successful in helping to reduce the rate of vertical HIV transmission in the developed world and hopes that through coordination, it can develop strategies to help developing countries reach the same outcomes. "The Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group has been instrumental in forging new prevention and treatment strategies for HIV-infected mothers and their children, and in working to extend and improve the quality of their lives. As the global scope of the epidemic evolves, the PACTG will continue to tackle the most critical needs in pediatric and adolescent HIV/AIDS research both in the United States and the developing world," NIAID Director Anthony Fauci said (NIAID release, 3/7).
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