Strategies and Treatments for Respiratory Infections & Viral Emergencies, or STRIVE, was established in 2022 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of bringing together multiple clinical trials networks under a broad international research collaboration. It is comprised of over 200 sites in over 40 countries across all inhabited continents globally. Professor Gail Matthews, Head of the Kirby Institute’s Therapeutic and Vaccine Research Program, has led the Sydney International Coordinating Centre sites , and will now be responsible for overseeing the broader collaboration.
“The vision of STRIVE is to improve the clinical outcomes of patients with acute severe infections while being prepared to respond to infectious disease emergencies through the rapid implementation of clinic trials designed to inform practice guidelines, public health policy and the delivery of health care,” says Prof Matthews.
Funded by a number of in-country bodies including the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Australian Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), STRIVE was built on networks collaborating on a number of successful adaptive trial designs, including ACTIV-3, ACTIV-3 and ACTT. “This global network of networks incorporates substantial and long-term expertise and experience in clinical trials, and this collaboration aims to be an exemplar for an effective global trial ecosystem,” says Prof Matthews.