CIHR Pan-Canadian Network for HIV/AIDS and STBBI Clinical Trials Research – Phase 1 – Registration

Well-being, Health and Biomedical Discovery

Deadlines

Academic Unit: inquire with unit

Memorial Deadline: RIS review not required for registration

External Deadline: Wednesday 25th, October 2023

Description

Remarkable progress has been made over the past four decades in the treatment and management of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and other STBBI. Unfortunately, the impacts of available interventions across key populations disproportionately affected by STBBI have varied. Global progress towards reducing mortality of HIV and viral hepatitis has slowed, and rates of new infections of curable STBBI, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, have increased, both in Canada and around the world. In Canada, regional disparities in rates of new STBBI infections persist and reflect the demographic diversity across the country. For some STBBI, regional disparities are growing at alarming rates.

Research and clinical trials on cures for HIV and other STBBI remain critical efforts for achieving Canada’s commitments to global targets for eliminating and reducing the health impacts of STBBI; however, to combat growing inequities in health outcomes for key populations, innovative and community-centred clinical trials are needed to improve prevention, treatment and management of STBBI and related comorbidities and co-infections. Fortunately, a significant contextual change in clinical trials research has occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is now an unprecedented ability to share knowledge across disciplines, leverage resources across clinical trials networks and conduct large-scale collaborative global research.

Building on this momentum, the Government of Canada, as part of Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy, has invested considerably in clinical trials infrastructure, training, and research through the Clinical Trials Fund. CIHR has made additional investments in the clinical trials ecosystem through the SPOR Innovative Clinical Trials Initiative, the COVID-19 Network of Clinical Trials Networks, has released the CIHR Policy Guide – Requirements for Registration and Disclosure of Results from Clinical Trials and contributed to the development the GloPID-R Funders Roadmap for Clinical Trial Coordination.

This new landscape for national and global collaboration on clinical trials research presents an opportunity for advancing innovation in clinical trials research for STBBI that builds on past success, leverages newly established resources and enhances knowledge mobilization across disciplines. Moving forward, coordination amongst clinical trials networks within Canada is needed to bolster pandemic preparedness and response to health emergencies.

Purpose

In alignment with the priorities of the CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Initiative Strategic Plan: 2022-2027, and the Government of Canada’s Pan-Canadian STBBI Framework for Action, the purpose of the CIHR Pan-Canadian Network for HIV/AIDS and STBBI Clinical Trials Research funding opportunity is to support a single, nationally-coordinated, interdisciplinary clinical trials research network (the Network) for addressing STBBI, including but not limited to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV), chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and human papilloma virus (HPV). The Network is expected to establish research infrastructure (including resources and expertise) that facilitates the advancement of innovative, community-centred clinical trials research, including research to address STBBI in the context of co-morbidities, co-infections, and disparities in the health and well-being of key populations disproportionately affected by STBBI in Canada.

The Network should be positioned to collaborate with other leading clinical trials networks in Canada and abroad to advance equitable, inclusive, innovative, robust and efficient clinical trials. These partnerships should enable leveraging of resources and mobilization of knowledge that can pivot for combatting emerging infectious disease outbreaks and other related public health crises with a focus on key populations.

Note: This funding opportunity does not include funding for the actual conduct of Phase 1-3 clinical trials.

See ResearchNet for further information.

Funding Sources

Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)