Introduction and Goals
NIAID supports the discovery and development of new therapeutic targets that are less toxic and have fewer side effects, promote better adherence, and are readily accessible, particularly in resource-limited settings. Specifically, therapeutic agents have been developed to treat the diseases caused by HIV and its co-infections and to prevent maternal-child transmission of HIV. Therapeutic agents can be small molecules, such as nucleosides, or large biopharmaceutical agents, such as antibodies or therapeutic vaccines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a current listing of HIV/AIDS therapeutics that have been approved by that agency.
NIAID’s research agenda for developing HIV/AIDS therapeutics is guided by the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR), the entity responsible for the overall scientific, budgetary, legislative, and policy elements of all AIDS research sponsored by NIH. The various Institutes and Centers at NIH are responsible for implementing OAR’s therapeutics research agenda and NIAID has long played a central role in the following research goals:
Drug Discovery
- Identify and validate new targets critical to the replication of HIV and its co-infections
- Evaluate new therapeutic agents and strategies for potential activity in cell culture and in animal efficacy models
Preclinical Drug Development
- Conduct translational activities (bulk drug synthesis, analytical chemistry, formulation development, animal pharmacology and toxicology) to convert promising lead compounds into pharmaceutical agents suitable for clinical evaluation
Clinical Research
- Conduct clinical research of new therapies and treatment regimens for treating HIV and its co-infections
- Evaluate approaches to prevent the transmission of HIV, improve and sustain an HIV-infected individual’s immune function, overcome drug resistance, and eradicate HIV from latent tissue reservoirs
- Investigate the metabolic changes and complications associated with the use of HAART
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