ACTG Highlights

ACTG investigators are virologists. Other specialty areas represented on the ACTG Executive
Committee include infectious diseases,. oncology, internal medicine, and pediatrics.
How are Constituents Involved in the Clinical Trials Process?
NIAID values the perspective of HIV-infected persons and their advocates. Representatives
serve on the NIAID Advisory Council and the NIAID AIDS Research Advisory Committee, as
well as on many other Institute advisory committees and review boards. For example, Ramon
Torres, M.D., a medical consultant to Gay Men's Health Crisis and a member of several patient
constituency organizations, is a member of the AIDS Clinical Drug Development Committee
(ACDDC). Dr. Torres is on the staff of St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center in New
York. The ACDDC reviews information on promising compounds submitted by investigators
and drug developers and helps establish priorities for further testing. In 1989, several
constituents served on the committee that reviewed applications for the Community Programs for
Clinical Research on AIDS (CPCRA), an innovative NIAID program that brings clinical trials to
patients and their physicians in community settings. In addition, many HIV-infected persons
and their advocates serve on advisory boards for the funded CPCRA sites.
In January 1990, the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) established a Patient Constituency
Working Group, including 22 individuals representing a broad spectrum of constituencies most
affected by the HIV epidemic. This group is drawing up specific recommendations for
constituent involvement in the ACTG process. Their proposal will be presented to the ACTG
Executive Committee in May.
What is the ACTG Position on Parallel Track/Expanded Access to Experimental
Therapies?
The ACTG Executive Committee, at its meeting in January 1990, fully endorsed the concept of
parallel track, as contained in a draft version of the final PHS proposal. Although some
individual ACTG investigators have voiced concerns about potential adverse effects of parallel
track on ACTG clinical trials, the group as a whole is supportive of the concept.
Prepared by:
Division of AIDS
and
Office of Communications
National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Md. 20892
May 1990

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