Recognizing the development of microbicides as an important priority in HIV/AIDS research, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), established the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) in 2006 as its newest of six NIAID-funded HIV/AIDS clinical trials networks. The MTN brings together international investigators and community and industry partners who are devoted to reducing the sexual transmission of HIV through the development and evaluation of microbicides, working within a unique infrastructure specifically designed to facilitate research required to support licensure of topical microbicide products for widespread use.
MTN is guided by an agenda that aims to complement rather than duplicate the research programs of its global research partners. It also seeks participation by and collaborations with representatives of diverse scientific disciplines related to HIV prevention, as well as from the lay communities where MTN trials are being conducted. Whether serving as a leader or a participant in the global effort, MTN strives to make scientifically meaningful contributions that will enable progress toward its ultimate goal: A world without HIV/AIDS.
MTN’s research portfolio is designed to face the global urgency of the HIV/AIDS epidemic head-on. It includes studies considered among the most critically important for advancing the field of HIV prevention. Many of these trials are focused on assessing antiretroviral-based microbicides and include studies designed to evaluate microbicides along with other promising HIV prevention approaches, such as oral antiretroviral prophylaxis. In fact, MTN is the first research group planning an HIV prevention trial that will evaluate both an oral and a topical drug (microbicide) in the same study.
Based at the University of Pittsburgh and Magee-Womens Research Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, MTN’s core operations are supported by a network laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, a statistical and data management center housed within the Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research & Prevention (SCHARP) at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Family Health International, a global organization with expertise conducting clinical protocols. In addition, MTN comprises 13 clinical trial units with 18 clinical research sites in seven countries. MTN receives its funding from three NIH institutes: NIAID, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Among the groups developing and evaluating microbicides for HIV prevention globally, the MTN is the only one funded by NIH.
The principal investigator of the MTN is Sharon Hillier, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Research Institute. Co-principal investigators are Ian McGowan, M.D., Ph.D., also of the University of Pittsburgh; and Connie Celum, M.D., M.P.H., University of Washington, Seattle. Charlene Dezzutti, Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Research Institute, is principal investigator of the Network Laboratory; while principal investigator for the Statistical and Data Management Center is Benoit Masse, Ph.D., from SCHARP. Principal investigator for Family Health International is Ward Cates, M.D.