WHO Toolkit for research and development of paediatric antiretroviral drugs and formulations

Martina Penazzato (MD, DTMH, MSc, PhD) has recently presented the WHO toolkit for research and development of paediatric antiretroviral drugs and formulations at the 22nd International AIDS Conference, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 23-27 July 2018.

This toolkit was developed under the leadership of the Treatment and care team in the HIV Department, WHO, and supported by the WHO Paediatric Antiretroviral Working Group. The project was led by Martina Penazzato (WHO Paediatric HIV Lead, Geneva, Switzerland) and coordinated by Claire Townsend (WHO consultant, Geneva, Switzerland).

It was brought about with the financial support of Unitaid, the PENTA Foundation and the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Network. The Research Toolkit for Paediatric HIV Drug Development was initiated by the WHO convened Paediatric ARV Working Group (PAWG) in collaboration with Unitaid, PENTAid and IMPAACT, with the aim of facilitating and accelerating the process of paediatric drug development and introduction through provision of information and guidance in a web-based format for easy access.

The toolkit was fostered under the umbrella of the Global Accelerator for Paediatric Formulations initiative to address some of the remaining challenges in developing HIV drugs for children and to serve as a global standard for accelerating high-quality research and development in this field. It provides an opportunity to capitalize on best practices and to set standards that enable drugs and formulations to be developed and introduced more rapidly.