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April 2020

NIH Clinical Trial Shows Remdesivir Accelerates Recovery from Advanced COVID-19

April 29, 2020

Hospitalized patients with advanced COVID-19 and lung involvement who received remdesivir recovered faster than similar patients who received placebo, according to a preliminary data analysis from a randomized, controlled trial involving 1063 patients, which began on February 21.

NIAID Strategic Plan Details COVID-19 Research Priorities

April 22, 2020

Urgent public health measures are needed to control the spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease it causes, coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19.  Scientific research to improve our understanding of the virus and how it causes disease, and to develop strategies to mitigate illness and death, is of paramount importance. A new strategic plan from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, details the institute’s plan for accelerating research to diagnose, prevent and treat COVID-19. 

Investigational Chimp Adenovirus MERS-CoV Vaccine Protects Monkeys

April 17, 2020

An investigational vaccine called ChAdOx1 MERS protected two groups of rhesus macaques from disease caused by Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).  MERS-CoV is a relative of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  National Institutes of Health scientists and colleagues are pursuing similar studies with ChAdOx1 SARS2, a vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2.

Antiviral Remdesivir Prevents Disease Progression in Monkeys with COVID-19

April 17, 2020

NIH reports early treatment with remdesivir significantly reduced clinical disease and damage to the lungs of rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2.

NIH Clinical Trial of a Vaccine for COVID-19 Now Enrolling Older Adults

April 17, 2020

A Phase 1 clinical trial of an investigational vaccine designed to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now enrolling older adults. The trial began on March 16, 2020 and was originally designed to enroll 45 healthy volunteers ages 18 to 55 years. Enrollment of the first 45 participants is now complete, and investigators have expanded the trial to enroll an additional 60 participants: 30 adults ages 56 to 70 years and 30 adults ages 71 years and older.

NIH Study Validates Decontamination Methods For Re-Use of N95 Respirators

April 15, 2020

N95 respirators can be decontaminated effectively and maintain functional integrity for up to three uses, according to National Institutes of Health scientists. N95 respirators are designed for single-use and are worn by healthcare providers to reduce exposure to airborne infectious agents, including the virus that causes COVID-19.  The study was conducted in a controlled laboratory setting, and the results were posted on a preprint server on today.

NIH Begins Study to Quantify Undetected Cases of Coronavirus Infection

April 10, 2020

A new study has begun recruiting at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland to determine how many adults in the United States without a confirmed history of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have antibodies to the virus. The presence of antibodies in the blood indicates a prior infection. In this “serosurvey,” researchers will collect and analyze blood samples from as many as 10,000 volunteers to provide critical data for epidemiological models. The results will help illuminate the extent to which the novel coronavirus has spread undetected in the United States and provide insights into which communities and populations are most affected.

March 2020

Atlanta Site Added to NIH Clinical Trial of a Vaccine for COVID-19

March 27, 2020

Emory University in Atlanta will begin enrolling healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years in a Phase 1 clinical trial of an investigational vaccine designed to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The trial, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, began last week at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle.

New Coronavirus Stable for Hours on Surfaces

March 17, 2020

Information about the new Coronavirus’ ability to survive for hours on surfaces from NIAID

NIH Clinical Trial of Investigational Vaccine for COVID-19 Begins

March 16, 2020

A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine designed to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in Seattle. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding the trial. KPWHRI is part of NIAID’s Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium.

Newer Anti-HIV Drugs Safest, Most Effective During Pregnancy

March 11, 2020

The antiretroviral drugs dolutegravir and emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (DTG+FTC/TAF) may comprise the safest and most effective HIV treatment regimen currently available during pregnancy, researchers announced today. Their findings come from a multinational study of more than 640 pregnant women with HIV across four continents. The study results affirm updated recommendations for HIV treatment in pregnant women set forth by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Drug-Delivery Technology Leads to Sustained HIV Antibody Production in NIH Study

March 9, 2020

An NIH study finds that a new drug-delivery technology leads to sustained HIV antibody production.

NIH Study Finds Lower Concentration of PrEP Drug in Pregnant Young Women

March 9, 2020

Among African adolescent girls and young women who took HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) daily, levels of the PrEP drug tenofovir were more than 30% lower in those who were pregnant than in those who had recently given birth. All 40 study participants took PrEP under direct observation, confirming their near-perfect adherence. PrEP drug levels were lower to a similar degree in the pregnant African adolescent girls and young women compared to American men and non-pregnant, non-lactating women who took PrEP daily under direct observation in an earlier study.

February 2020

COVID-19 a Reminder of the Challenge of Emerging Infectious Diseases

February 28, 2020

The emergence and rapid increase in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, pose complex challenges to the global public health, research and medical communities, write federal scientists from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Their commentary appears in The New England Journal of Medicine

NIH Clinical Trial of Remdesivir to Treat COVID-19 Begins

February 25, 2020

A NIAID-sponsored clinical trial evaluating investigational antiviral remdesivir in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 has begun.

Remdesivir Prevents MERS Coronavirus Disease in Monkeys

February 13, 2020

The experimental antiviral remdesivir successfully prevented disease in rhesus macaques infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists. Remdesivir prevented disease when administered before infection and improved the condition of macaques when given after the animals already were infected.

The new report from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Recent Advances in Addressing Tuberculosis Give Hope for Future

February 11, 2020

NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and other Institute officials summarize progress in improved TB diagnostics, therapeutics and prevention approaches.

NIH-Funded Clinical Trial to Test PrEP, Dapivirine Ring for Safety in Pregnant Women

February 10, 2020

The first clinical trial specifically designed to test the safety of the monthly dapivirine vaginal ring in pregnant women has begun in southern and eastern Africa. The National Institutes of Health-funded study also will test the safety of a daily oral antiviral tablet for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in pregnant women and will assess how much they accept and use these two HIV prevention tools. The study will complement an ongoing NIH-funded trial of PrEP in adolescents and young women during pregnancy and the first six months after birth.

Experimental HIV Vaccine Regimen Ineffective in Preventing HIV

February 3, 2020

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has stopped administration of vaccinations in its HVTN 702 clinical trial of an investigational HIV vaccine. This action was taken because an independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) found during an interim review that the regimen did not prevent HIV. Importantly, the DSMB did not express any concern regarding participant safety. 

January 2020

First Human Trial of Monoclonal Antibody to Prevent Malaria Opens

January 27, 2020

A Phase 1 clinical trial testing the safety and effectiveness of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against malaria has begun enrolling healthy adult volunteers at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The trial, sponsored by NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is the first to test mAb CIS43LS in humans. It aims to enroll up to 73 volunteers aged 18 through 50 years old who have never had malaria.

NIAID Officials Discuss Novel Coronavirus that Recently Emerged in China

January 23, 2020

The new cluster of viral pneumonia cases originating in Wuhan, China, marks the third time in 20 years that a member of the large family of coronaviruses (CoVs) has jumped from animals to humans and sparked an outbreak. In a new JAMA Viewpoint essay, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), looks back at two earlier novel CoV outbreaks that initially caused global havoc and describes steps needed to contain the current one.

NIH-Supported Scientists Reverse HIV and SIV Latency in Two Animal Models

January 22, 2020

In a range of experiments, scientists have reactivated resting immune cells that were latently infected with HIV or its monkey relative, SIV, in cells in the bloodstream and a variety of tissues in animals. As a result, the cells started making copies of the viruses, which could potentially be neutralized by anti-HIV drugs and the immune system. This advance, published today in two papers in the journal Nature, marks progress toward a widely accessible cure for HIV. 

New Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Trial Compares Stem Cell Transplantation to Best Available Drugs

January 7, 2020

A clinical trial has begun testing an experimental stem cell treatment against the best available biologic therapies for severe forms of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, will compare the safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the two therapeutic approaches.