NIH awarded a contract for $8 million to expand the Southeast Asian Influenza Clinical Research Network, a collaborative partnership of hospitals and institutions in Indonesia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. The funding is accelerating the establishment of additional clinical research sites whose mission is to advance the scientific knowledge and management of human influenza through research into the development of therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines. The SEA Network is currently conducting one multi-center multinational clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of high vs. standard dose of oseltamivir for patients with severe seasonal influenza and those with avian influenza. A study has been completed on the pharmacokinetics of loading dose oseltamivir and probenecid/oseltamivir combination. Additional studies are in development.
