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NIH expands funding for early clinical trials
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The NIH has increased the number of organizations that receive funding for early-stage human clinical trials of investigational infectious disease treatments, according to a press release.
Established in 2008, the Phase 1 Clinical Trial Units for Therapeutics program provides an estimated maximum of $90 million of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funding over a 10-year period to institutions that have received a contract. By increasing the number of funded institutions from two to three, up to 12 clinical trials of novel investigational drugs will be supported annually.
“A significant challenge in drug development is moving promising agents for treating infectious diseases into initial testing in humans to evaluate their safety,” Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the NIAID, said in a press release. “These new contracts expand our ability to identify and accelerate the development of promising therapeutics to combat existing and potential microbial threats to public health.”
Anthony S. Fauci
According to the NIAID’s website, drug testing proposals submitted through the program are prioritized by committee, based on public health significance and study design strength. Previous treatments supported through the program include a fusion protein antiviral drug, which has now advanced to phase 2 trials.
Contracts currently are awarded to DynPort Vaccine in Frederick, Md., Clinical Research Management in Hinckley, Ohio, and Duke University, which is the most recent awardee.