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NIAID Selects Sarah Read as Principal Deputy Director

October 2, 2024

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has named Sarah W. Read, M.D., MHS, as the principal deputy director for the institute.

Clinical Trial of HIV Vaccine Begins in United States and South Africa

September 20, 2023

A trial of a preventive HIV vaccine candidate has begun enrollment in the United States and South Africa. The Phase 1 trial will evaluate a novel vaccine known as VIR-1388 for its safety and ability to induce an HIV-specific immune response in people. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has provided scientific and financial support throughout the lifecycle of this HIV vaccine concept and is contributing funding for this study. 

U.S. Clinical Trials Begin for Twice-Yearly HIV Prevention Injection

June 4, 2024

Two clinical trials have launched to examine a novel long-acting form of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in cisgender women and people who inject drugs. The mid-stage studies will assess the safety, acceptability, and pharmacokinetics (how a drug moves through the body) of lenacapavir, an antiretroviral drug administered by injection every six months. The studies are sponsored and funded by Gilead Sciences, Inc., and implemented through the HIV Prevention Trails Network (HPTN).

NIAID Pandemic Preparedness Plan Targets ‘Prototype’ and Priority Pathogens

February 2, 2022

As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues into its third year, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is focusing on preparing for a range of other viral threats that could cause a public health emergency. For decades, NIAID has launched major research responses and developed medical countermeasures to combat multiple emerging infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, SARS-CoV-1, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Ebola virus, Zika virus, and SARS-CoV-2. 

NIH Launches Clinical Trial of Three mRNA HIV Vaccines

March 14, 2022

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating three experimental HIV vaccines based on a messenger RNA (mRNA) platform—a technology used in several approved COVID-19 vaccines. NIAID is sponsoring the study, called HVTN 302, and the NIAID-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, is conducting the trial.

NIH Statement on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2023

May 18, 2023

Today marks the 26th observance of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. The National Institutes of Health applauds the efforts of the collaborative global community of scientists, advocates, study participants, study staff, and funders enabling unprecedented levels of innovation and adaptation in the pursuit of a highly effective HIV vaccine.

NIH Experts Call for Accelerated Research to Address Concurrent HIV and COVID-19 Pandemics

April 8, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with or at risk for HIV both indirectly, by interfering with HIV treatment and prevention services, and directly, by threatening individual health. An effective response to these dual pandemics requires unprecedented collaboration to accelerate basic and clinical research, as well as implementation science to expeditiously introduce evidence-based strategies into real-world settings. This message comes from a review article co-authored by Anthony S.

World TB Day 2024 – Yes! We Can End TB!

March 22, 2024

In observance of World Tuberculosis Day (Sunday, March 24), NIAID joins our partners in reaffirming our commitment to ending the tuberculosis (TB) pandemic while honoring the lives lost to TB disease.

NIH Experts Review Monkeypox Challenges

August 24, 2022

Lessons learned from the public health responses to the HIV and COVID-19 pandemics should help guide the response to the current outbreak of monkeypox, National Institutes of Health experts write in an editorial published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and H.

NIH Researchers Identify How Two People Controlled HIV After Stopping Treatment

October 28, 2021

Research led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health has identified two distinct ways that people with HIV can control the virus for an extended period after stopping antiretroviral therapy (ART) under medical supervision. This information could inform efforts to develop new tools to help people with HIV put the virus into remission without taking lifelong medication, which can have long-term side-effects. 

Antibody Infusions Prevent Acquisition of Some HIV Strains, NIH Studies Find

January 26, 2021

NIH finds that an investigational anti-HIV antibody prevented acquisition of some HIV strains, but did not significantly reduce overall acquisition.

Dr. Fauci Reflects on the Perpetual Challenge of Infectious Diseases

November 28, 2022

Once considered a potentially static field of medicine, the discipline of studying infectious diseases has proven to be dynamic as emerging and reemerging infectious diseases present continuous challenges, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., writes in a perspective in The New England Journal of Medicine. In the piece, Dr. Fauci, who since 1984 has directed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, reflects on his career responding to infectious disease threats. Dr.

U.S. Clinical Trial Evaluating Antiviral for Monkeypox Begins

September 9, 2022

A Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the antiviral tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, is now enrolling adults and children with monkeypox infection in the United States. Study investigators aim to enroll more than 500 people from clinical research sites nationwide. Interested volunteers can visit the ACTG website (clinical trial A5418) for more information. The NIAID-funded Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG) is leading the study, which may later expand to international sites. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at NIH is supporting several sites, including through the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network (IMPAACT).

NIAID Appoints Ted Pierson as New Vaccine Research Center Director

April 25, 2023

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has named Theodore (Ted) C. Pierson, Ph.D., as the new director of its Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center (VRC) in Bethesda, MD.

Statement by Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.

August 22, 2022

I am announcing today that I will be stepping down from the positions of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, as well as the position of Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden. I will be leaving these positions in December of this year to pursue the next chapter of my career.

NIH Scientists Identify Nutrient that Helps Prevent Bacterial Infection

January 15, 2021

NIAID scientists studying natural defenses against bacterial infection found that taurine helps the gut recall prior infections and kill invading bacteria.

Monkeypox Treatment Trial Begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

October 12, 2022

A clinical trial to evaluate the antiviral drug tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, in adults and children with monkeypox has begun in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The trial will evaluate the drug’s safety and its ability to mitigate monkeypox symptoms and prevent serious outcomes, including death. NIAID and the DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) are co-leading the trial as part of the government-to-government PALM partnership. Collaborating institutions include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, the aid organization Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

World TB Day 2022—Invest to End TB. Save Lives

March 24, 2022

Today marks the 140th anniversary of the announcement by Dr. Robert Koch that tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. World TB Day is a reminder that this ancient disease remains a relentless killer. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, affirms its commitment to the 2022 World TB Day theme, Invest to End TB. Save Lives, by supporting and conducting wide-ranging research aimed at reducing the health and economic impacts of TB.

Statement—Large Clinical Trial Will Test Combination Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for Mild/Moderate COVID-19

January 5, 2021

A NIAID-supported clinical trial has begun to evaluate a combination investigational monoclonal antibody therapy for people with mild to moderate COVID-19.

Investigational Three-Month TB Regimen Is Safe but Ineffective, NIH Study Finds

July 5, 2023

The first clinical trial of a three-month tuberculosis (TB) treatment regimen is closing enrollment because of a high rate of unfavorable outcomes with the investigational course of treatment. Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG) 5362, also known as the CLO-FAST trial, sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a three-month clofazimine- and high-dose rifapentine-containing regimen. An interim data analysis showed that participants taking the investigational regimen experienced ongoing or recurring TB at rates above thresholds set in the study protocol.

NIH Research Identifies Opportunities to Improve Future HIV Vaccine Candidates

December 14, 2023

An effective HIV vaccine may need to prompt strong responses from immune cells called CD8+ T cells to protect people from acquiring HIV, according to a new study from researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues. The study findings, appearing in Science, draw comparisons between the immune system activity of past HIV vaccine study participants and people with HIV who naturally keep the virus from replicating even in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Statement—Four Potential COVID-19 Therapeutics Enter Phase 2/3 Testing in NIH ACTIV-2 Trial

February 12, 2021

Enrollment has begun to test additional investigational drugs in the NIH Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) program.

NIH Researchers Discover Novel Class of Anti-Malaria Antibodies

January 3, 2025

New antibodies that bind to a previously untargeted portion of the malaria parasite could lead to new monoclonal antibody treatments and vaccines for malaria.

Combination Anti-HIV Antibody Infusions Suppress Virus for Prolonged Period

June 1, 2022

Individuals with HIV who began taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the early stages of infection achieved a lengthy period of HIV suppression without ART after receiving two broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies (bNAbs), according to a small study published today in the journal Nature. The findings suggest that combination bNAb therapy might offer a future alternative to daily ART for people living with HIV.

Statement—Large NIH Clinical Trial Will Test Polyclonal Antibody Therapeutic for COVID-19

April 21, 2021

A Phase 2/3 trial to evaluate a new fully-human polyclonal antibody therapeutic targeted to SARS-CoV-2, called SAB-185, has begun enrolling non-hospitalized people with mild or moderate cases of COVID-19. The trial, ACTIV-2, is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The therapeutic was developed by SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Sioux Falls, South Dakota).