New Award from U.S. National Institutes of Health Extends Long-standing Relationship with Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Clinical Research Business in Pursuit of Therapies for People with HIV
WILMINGTON, N.C., (Dec. 1, 2024) – The PPD™ clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, has been awarded two contract renewals in support of HIV clinical research for the Division of AIDS (DAIDS), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Through a concerted global focus, including the dedication of NIAID, HIV has been transformed from a deadly, unresolvable disease in the 1980s to a more manageable condition for many people given the antiretroviral treatments currently available. The PPD clinical research business has supported more than 500 clinical trials involving HIV since its original DAIDS contract award in 1990.
Today, access to therapies is not universal, evidence of drug resistance continues to surface and HIV continues to be a major public health concern. In 2023, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes and 40 million people were living with HIV globally, with 1.3 million people becoming newly infected with the virus that year. The scale of these statistics underscores the need for delivering new therapies and pursuing emerging treatment options, including prevention products to protect people, particularly those disproportionately affected by HIV. NIAID-sponsored protocols collect and contribute valuable HIV drug effectiveness data to help solve the evolving drug-resistance challenge and to inform the research, medical and clinical communities on the latest data to support care, prevention and treatment.
“We are privileged to continue our long-standing collaborative relationship with NIH dedicated to HIV research, contributing comprehensive clinical site and study monitoring and support services in some of the most critical and exciting directions in HIV research,” said Sebastian Pacios, M.D., senior vice president and president, clinical research, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Our study teams and project leaders, including our in-house HIV medical expert, are passionately committed to HIV research, many with decades of experience in the field. We also bring expertise in ensuring the inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds in clinical research so that new treatments are available for all, a critical consideration given HIV’s disproportionate impact within some populations. Over time, the HIV story has had many positive chapters, but our collective work on behalf of people living with HIV is far from finished.”
NIAID has renewed two contracts with the PPD clinical research business, both seven-year contracts extending through 2031. Under the sixth renewal of the NIAID Clinical Site Monitoring contract, first awarded in 1990, the business provides clinical site monitoring services and measures site performance, both for therapeutic and prevention trials. Under the latest renewal of the Clinical Research Support Services contract, the business is providing a broad range of research support services to the current and evolving DAIDS-supported clinical research portfolio and other infectious diseases that share health determinants with HIV.
Thermo Fisher’s history of improving HIV research and outcomes includes strengthening health ecosystems so more people can receive the highest standard of care. The company’s global access program lowers barriers to products such as its HIV drug-resistance genotyping kit, which more efficiently determines the best course of HIV treatment and can enable better healthcare outcomes. Thermo Fisher also collaborates with leading global health and humanitarian organizations to support communities that bear the highest HIV burden.
Contract awards reported in this press release are supported by NIAID, NIH under contract number 75N93021D00035 (task order numbers 75N93024F00001 and 75N93024F00002).
About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.
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