Press Releases 2004

U.S. Funds Studies for Tuberculosis Vaccine Trials in India

September 23, 2004

NEW DELHI -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced a $925,000 cooperative agreement with the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation to conduct epidemiologic studies in preparation for clinical trials of new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in India.

The cooperative agreement with CDC is the first government contribution to Aeras, a leading organization working to develop new vaccines against TB, a bacterial disease that kills 2 million people worldwide each year. The funding is renewable for up to three years.

The leading killer of people living with HIV/AIDS, TB is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world, and fully one third of the global population has been infected. The currently available vaccine, BCG, is nearly a century old and rarely protects beyond early childhood.

Aeras will work with the CDC and collaborators at the St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore, India, to develop and expand sites for Phase II and Phase III clinical trials in Palamaner Taluk, Andhra Pradesh, India.

The cooperative agreement will help Aeras create a professional development program for staff in India, develop laboratory capacity for TB diagnosis and referral systems to treat and cure patients, examine TB incidence and prevalence, and further study TB incidence among newborns and adolescents in this southern part of India.

In making the award, the CDC recognized Aeras for "innovative work in advancing the field of TB vaccine development" and cited the organization's history of collaboration with international partners in South Africa, Europe and Asia. Aeras is based in Bethesda, Maryland. Additional information on the foundation may be viewed at http://www.aeras.org/index.html

CDC, located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. It is recognized as the lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people -- at home and abroad, providing credible information to enhance health decisions, and promoting health through strong partnerships.