Washington D.C.: Public Meeting on Safety Issues in PrEP

An invitation from the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research:

Safety Issues in Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for HIV negative individuals, proposals for management of safety concerns, and pending plans for scale-up

Forum for Collaborative HIV Research

1608 Rhode Island Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20036

August 19, 2011

8:30am - 4:00pm

The Forum for Collaborative HIV Research has been tasked by our collaborators in the public health community, including the US Food and Drug Administration, to convene an open public meeting to address safety issues that may surround the introduction of biomedical approaches to prevent HIV infection. Recent data from the iPrEx, Partners PrEP and CDC’s TDF2 studies support a conclusion that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with antiretrovirals may be effective at preventing transmission of infection in otherwise healthy, vulnerable individuals upon exposure to HIV. This important finding may lead to scale-up, broad use of PrEP and, potentially, approval of a PrEP indication.

Recently, the drug development paradigm has also shifted with more focus on safeguarding individuals on medications. Premarket studies can miss important safety signals, either because the patient population is different and limited by enrollment criteria, too small to see low incidence events, or exposure is not long enough to identify latent effects. Compensatory behavioral issues may also be a concern upon scale-up. Appropriate communication strategies to reach the intended healthcare provider and the intended vulnerable populations must be identified and formulated. Mechanisms to anticipate and/or control the development of resistant HIV are also important. Finally, public focus as a result of our meeting may identify additional public health issues that should be addressed as well.

The Forum meeting will follow our usual format of panel discussions featuring stakeholders, including academics, trialists, clinicians, community advocates, public health professionals, and others. Each will be asked by a moderator to address a set of pre-prepared questions. Four panels are planned: (1) What are the safety issues of concern with pre-exposure prophylaxis?; (2) what are potential remedies to control safety risks and their pros and cons?; (3) what are the public health implications?; and (4) finally, a panel will summarize and identify next step.

Because of limited space, public participation in the meeting room will be limited to one participant per organization. An overflow room will be available for attendees on an as-needed basis. The meeting will be webcast to enhance national dissemination. Written supplementary questions can be directed to the panels. Webcast attendees can also submit written questions via instant messaging.

Registration: Register online at http://prep-reg.com/ to attend the public meeting or to view the live webcast.

Location: 1608 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
Date and Time: August 19, 2011 8:30 AM-4:00 PM

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Statistical Methods for Causal Inference in Observational and Randomized Studies: Course fees increase on August 1

7/26/11 This course concerns statistical methods for causal inference using observational and experimental longitudinal data. The course will focus on the application of methodological advances in statistical and causal research to improve the design and interpretation of safety analyses. These analyses will become increasingly important in the post-marketing safety environment for new drugs.

Dates: September 26-28, 2011.
Location: UC Washington Center, Washington, DC.

To register, please use the following link: www.hivforum.org/stats2011

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]