Funding is being requested for an international workshop to be conducted in Bangkok, Thailand from April 17-18, 1999.
Its aim i s to assemble people who are/may be involved in the conduct of HIV vaccine trials in Thailand to discuss two issues that should be clarified now that phase III testing of HIV vaccines is imminent. The first topic is to discuss how Thai scientists and regulators can most effectively work with the organizers and data management centers of HIV vaccine studies being conducted or funded by non-Thai investigators to ensure that the safety and ethical concerns of both groups are satisfied. The second issue is to identify the types of behavioral and outcome information that should be collected about HIV vaccine trial participants after these volunteers have completed the trials, and to determine how the systems can be tested and implemented. By successfully defining and implementing relationships between the external organizations and Thai scientists and officials, Thailand will be in the position to determine how best to execute its plans to control HIV and to encourage external researchers to conduct relevant studies in Thailand. Additionally, having plans for long term follow-up in place will ensure that the interests of the funding agencies as well as the trial participants have been well thought out. Representatives from the HIV vaccine research community, funding and regulatory agencies, and UNAIDS will be invited. The organizers and participants will include people from various disciplines. Although the meeting will focus on HIV vaccine studies conducted in Thailand, the principles and possibly solutions to be discussed will be useful to externally-funded therapeutic and preventative HIV research conducted in any developing country. The results of the meeting will be summarized in the form of a report for submission to an appropriate journal.
