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Moi University Clinical Research Centre

Testing New Interventions and Determining Optimal Dosing

Clinical trials are the way to test if new interventions work in humans and if they are safe and efficacious. They are also the way in which optimal dosing of medication and other interventions are determined.

Clinical trials conducted in the Africa population are important as the African population is very diverse in terms of genetics and lifestyle, making it an ideal place for clinical trials on a variety of diseases. The higher incidence of infectious diseases also makes it an ideal place for vaccine development.

Conducting Clinical Trails for 20 years

The Moi University Clinical Research Centre (MUCRC) was established in 2004 as part of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) Network. It is located within the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) Chandaria Cancer and Chronic Diseases Centre and operates in partnership with AMPATH and MTRH. The unit is supported by internationally accredited laboratory services and meets international standards for clinical research practices.

The MUCRC conducts clinical trials for a variety of clients and partners including the United States’ National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and several pharmaceutical companies.

The MUCRC includes:

• nine investigators

• pharmacists and pharm techs

• data team

• study coordinators

• clinical officers

• medical officers

• nurses

• recruitment specialists.

An important component of the MUCRC is the Community Advisory Board (CAB), which includes six members who meet two times per month and represent teachers, patients, human rights organizations and women’s issues. They review proposed protocols and also educate the community. This helps with recruitment of participants once screening is kicked off. At the end of the trial, they also share results as part of dissemination efforts. The length of clinical trials can be as short as one or two years or up to 8 years or more.

Clinical Trails Inform Care

The findings of more than a dozen clinical trials completed by the MUCRC now inform the choice of medications in clinical practice. For example, the EARNEST trial was a randomized controlled trial to evaluate options for second-line therapy for people living with HIV who were not getting the desired results on their first-line therapy.

Other studies informed the current recommendation for preventative therapy for tuberculosis for people living with HIV and the current World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for first-line antiretroviral therapy.