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Overview
On April 17, 2020 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) public-private partnership to develop a coordinated research strategy for prioritizing and speeding development of the most promising treatments and vaccines.
Coordinated by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), ACTIV brings NIH together with its sibling agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); other government agencies including the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); Operation Warp Speed (OWS); the European Medicines Agency (EMA); and representatives from academia, philanthropic organizations, and numerous biopharmaceutical companies.
Challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis that has been met with a swift and extraordinary response. Since the novel coronavirus was first reported in late 2019, institutions and organizations around the world have launched hundreds of research studies on diagnosis, prevention, and treatment strategies—all of which are critical to the world’s ability to return to normal.
With limited resources, there is a need to coordinate and streamline processes to make the best use of biomedical research resources and testing of preclinical compounds.
![Test tubes image with a blue tint Test tubes image with a blue tint](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218041306im_/https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/featured_media_breakpoint-medium/public/research-training/initiatives/activ/blue-test-tubes-background.png?itok=M8DjARku×tamp=1591019561)
The research community is sifting through more than 100 potential preventives and treatments. However, because so many studies are recruiting patients, many of those studies could fail to enroll enough participants to answer their research questions. In addition, lack of coordination could make interpretation and comparison of the results difficult. Meanwhile, healthcare providers on the front lines are taking care of critically ill patients every day. They need solid information grounded in research.
With limited resources, there is a need to coordinate and streamline processes to make the best use of biomedical research resources and testing of preclinical compounds. There is also a need to prioritize the most promising vaccine candidates and move them into clinical trials in a way that is safe and efficient.
Opportunity
Through the ACTIV initiative, NIH is pursuing four fast-track focus areas most ripe for opportunity, each of which is led by a working group of senior scientists representing government, industry, non-profit, philanthropic, and academic organizations.
Fast Track Area #1
Develop a collaborative, streamlined forum to identify preclinical treatments.
![Biomedical researcher with a pipette Biomedical researcher with a pipette](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218041306im_/https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/floated_media_breakpoint-medium/public/research-training/initiatives/activ/activ-fast-track-1.jpg?itok=wUmrMd4V×tamp=1590786092)
The Preclinical Working Group focused on:
- Establishing a centralized process and repository for harmonizing and sharing methods and evaluating animal models
- Extending access to high-throughput screening facilities, especially in biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) labs
- Increasing access to validated animal models
- Enhancing comparison of approaches to identify informative assays
Fast Track Area #2
Accelerate clinical testing of the most promising vaccines and treatments.
![Filling a syringe with a vaccine Filling a syringe with a vaccine](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218041306im_/https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/floated_media_breakpoint-medium/public/research-training/initiatives/activ/activ-fast-track-2.jpg?itok=bBptb4qB×tamp=1590786047)
The Therapeutics Clinical Working Group focused on:
- Establishing a steering committee with relevant expertise to set criteria for and rank potential candidates submitted by industry partners for testing
- Developing a complete inventory of potential candidates with different mechanisms of action and acceptable safety profiles
- Designing, launching, and openly sharing master protocols with agreed-upon endpoints, sampling, and analysis for evaluating candidates
- Using a single control arm to enhance trial efficiency
Fast Track Area #3
Improve clinical trial capacity and effectiveness.
![Close-up of a microscope Researcher in a lab](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218041306im_/https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/floated_media_breakpoint-medium/public/research-training/initiatives/activ/activ-fast-track-3.jpg?itok=OyREHQDs×tamp=1592579764)
The Clinical Trial Capacity Working Group focused on:
- Specializing in different populations and disease stages
- Leveraging infrastructure and expertise from across NIH and non-NIH networks and clinical research organizations
- Establishing a coordinated mechanism across networks to expedite trials
- Tracking incidence across sites and projecting future capacity
Fast Track Area #4
Accelerate the evaluation of vaccine candidates to enable rapid authorization or approval.
![A patient receiving a vaccination A patient receiving a vaccination](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218041306im_/https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/floated_media_breakpoint-medium/public/research-training/initiatives/activ/activ-fast-track-4.jpg?itok=rSefeN7T×tamp=1590786072)
The Vaccines Working Group focused on:
- Harmonizing efficacy trials to enable analysis of correlates of protection across vaccines
- Creating a collaborative framework to share insights into natural immunity and vaccine candidate-induced immune response
Leadership Organizations
Through ACTIV, NIH brings together government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and numerous biopharmaceutical companies.
Government
- Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Department of Defense
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- European Medicines Agency
- National Institutes of Health
- Operation Warp Speed
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Industry
- AbbVie
- Amgen
- AstraZeneca
- Bristol Myers Squibb
- Eisai
- Eli Lilly and Company
- Evotec
- Gilead
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Johnson & Johnson
- Merck & Co., Inc.
- Moderna
- Novartis
- Novavax
- Pfizer
- Rhythm Therapeutics
- Roche-Genentech
- Sanofi
- Takeda
- Vir Biotechnology
Non-Profit
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
- RTI International
Organization Chart
![ACTIV Organization Chart ACTIV Public Private Partnership organization chart](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218041306im_/https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/featured_media_breakpoint-medium/public/research-training/initiatives/activ/activ-org-chart.png?itok=usrGifaK×tamp=1593537816)