ACTG Highlights

Opportunistic Infections Research - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
HIV-ASSOCIATED OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS:
NIAID-SUPPORTED PRECLINICAL RESEARCH
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) plays a major
role in fostering the discovery of promising therapeutic agents directed against HIVassociated opportunistic infections (Ols). The largest part of this effort is coordinated by
the Developmental Therapeutics Branch (DTB) of NIAID's Division of AIDS (DAIDS). In
addition, a smaller effort focused on viral opportunistic infections is integrated into the
longstanding program of the Antiviral Research Branch (ARB) of the Institute's Division of
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID). Undergirding this effort is the Institute's
commitment since its inception to the support of basic research in infectious diseases.
Reflecting the Institute's consideration of HIV-associated Ols as a high priority
research area, DAIDS and DMID jointly sponsored a workshop in September 1989 on
future directions in the search for 01 therapies. More than 150 academic, industry, and
government scientists attended.
Developmental Therapeutics Branch, NIAID Division of AIDS
To date, nearly all licensed drugs used to fight infections were discovered through
random screening of synthetic and naturally occurring compounds. A newer approach and
one being vigorously pursued by AIDS researchers is targeted drug discovery. In this
second approach, researchers target vulnerable aspects of a microbe, learn as much as
posssible about those targets, and design drugs to attack them. Targeted drug discovery is
the primary emphasis of NIAID-supported programs to develop new therapies for HIV and
HIV-associated Ols.
Basic research on infectious agents has always been supported by IAID. The
approach being used by DTB is novel in that through specific programs researchers are
strongly encouraged to take their basic research findings one step further and specifically
exploit that knowledge to design new drugs. DTB fosters this approach by building
bridges between scientists working in academic and government laboratories, whose main
focus is basic research, and scientists working in the private sector, whose expertise has
traditionally been strongest in the later stages of drug development such as scale-up
synthesis and formulation. The rationale for encouraging these collaborations is to assure a