ACTG Highlights

industry scientists. DTB staff coordinate a five-arm, structured 01 program consisting of:
(1) the National Cooperative Drug Discovery Groups for Opportunistic Infections;
(2) investigator-initiated basic research grants; (3) contracts to identify agents active against
opportunistic pathogens; (4) contracts to analyze the efficacy and toxicity of single and
combination therapies in animal models; and (5) resources to conduct chemical formulation
and synthesis studies. DTB staff work closely with the staff of the DAIDS Treatment
Research Program (TRP) to ensure that the best anti-OL drugs reach the clinic quickly.
In addition to the DTB effort, a smaller effort focused on viral Ols is integrated
into the longstanding program of the Antiviral Research Branch (ARB) of the Institute's
Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. ARB oversees programs of drug
discovery and development and provides animal models of important viral diseases in
which promising compounds can be tested.
In September 1989, the Institute brought together a diverse group of infectious
disease experts to address future directions in 01 research. This workshop, cosponsored by
DAIDS and ARB, drew more than 150 investigators from university, government, and
industry laboratories. Current knowledge about specific pathogens was discussed and a
recommended strategy to accelerate the development of 01 therapies was developed.
Buttressing the Institute's newer programs is its 42-year history of commitment to
funding basic research on infectious organisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and
parasites. NIAID's strong support of immunology research complements this ongoing effort
by illuminating how these pathogens destroy or disrupt the body's immune system to allow
diseases to develop.
Clinical Research
The majority of NIAID-supported clinical 01 research is carried out by ACTG
investigators, who are funded through the TRP. The ACTG is a network of 47 universitybased adult and pediatric AIDS clinical trials units around the country. The rapidity with
which such a large-scale clinical trials effort was established is extraordinary in the history
of modern medicine.
Through the ACTG, TRP staff, and the ACTG's Harvard-based Statistical and Data
Analysis Center, NIAID provides national leadership in (1) fostering and conducting clinical
research to identify optimal therapies for HIV disease and Ols, (2) broadly disseminating
the results of this clinical research, and (3) facilitating the application of such results to
medical practice. The ACTG's ability to perform large, multicenter trials has positioned it
at the vanguard of the HIV clinical trials movement, with several advances in anti-HIV
clinical research to its credit. In the area of Ols, the ACTG has also made major
contributions to the prevention and treatment of PCP, cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis,
histoplasmosis, and cryptococcal meningitis.
Clinical research on Ols is enhanced by the new Community Programs for Clinical
Research on AIDS (CPCRA). DAIDS established CPCRA to involve more primary care

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