Mexican Emerging Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (LaRed)

In response to the influenza pandemic of the H1N1 virus in 2009, the Ministry of Health of Mexico identified the need to create a clinical research network with the mission to lead and promote discoveries and advances in the field of influenza and other emerging infectious disease. The resulting network, the Mexican Emerging Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (LaRed), was established between the Mexico Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA in September 2009. Greater than ten institutions are involved in LaRed, strategically located in Mexico City, San Luis Potosi, Oaxaca, Tapachula and Ixtapaluca working collaboratively to share resources that enhance the conduct of research ranging from observational studies to highly regulated multi-site domestic and international clinical trials.

The LaRed Network has conducted over a dozen multi-center studies, including the pivotal ACTT 1 Remdesivir study for the treatment of COVID-19 and ACTT 2-4, the InVITE study an international multi-country study comparing COVID-19 vaccine regimens and studies in influenza and Zika.

Main Area of Focus

The mission of LaRed is to be a collaborative network of academic health institutions that leads and promotes relevant, timely, efficient, ethical and high quality clinical research on the nature and behavior of emerging infectious diseases, influenza and other viruses in order to improve health.

Clinical Studies

CNSARI (NCT03168282): Evaluation of Culture Negative Severe Acute Respiratory Infection in Mexico.

ILI002 (NCT01418287): An Observational Study to Characterize Children and Adults With Influenza Like Illness (ILI) in Mexico.

IRC003 (NCT01227967): A Randomized Double-Blind Phase 2 Study Comparing the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Combination Antivirals (Amantadine, Ribavirin, Oseltamivir) Versus Oseltamivir for the Treatment of Influenza in Adults at Risk for Complications.

FLU-IVIG (NCT02037282): A Phase 1, Open Label, Ascending Dose Cohort Study of the Pharmacokinetics of Anti-Influenza Hyperimmune Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Healthy Subjects.

ILI-2014 (NCT02378090): An Observational Study to Determine the Causes and Identify Increases in Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) in Mexico: The Mexican Emerging Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (La Red).

NTZ-SARI (NCT02057757): A Randomized Double-Blind Phase 2 Study Comparing the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Nitazoxanide Versus Placebo in Addition to Standard Care for the Treatment of Hospitalized Subjects With Severe Acute Respiratory Illness.

SPRINT-SARI (NCT02498587): Short Period Incidence Study of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness.

ZIK01 (NCT02831699): The Evaluation of Potential Zika, Chikungunya, and Dengue Infections in Mexico (Zik01).

ACTT (NCT04280705): A Multicenter, Adaptive, Randomized Blinded Controlled Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Investigational Therapeutics for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults.

ACTT-2 (NCT04401579): A Multicenter, Adaptive, Randomized Blinded Controlled Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Investigational Therapeutics for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults (ACTT-2).

ACTT-3 (NCT04492475): A Multicenter, Adaptive, Randomized Blinded Controlled Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Investigational Therapeutics for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Adults (ACTT-3).

ACTT-4 (NCT04640168): An adaptive randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of novel therapeutic agents in hospitalized adults diagnosed with COVID-19.

INSIGHT 011 ICOS (NCT04385251): This is an international, observational cohort study of adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection/COVID-19 managed as outpatients (not hospitalized).

INSIGHT 012 OTAC (NCT04910269): An International Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Anti-Coronavirus Hyperimmune Intravenous Immunoglobulin for the Treatment of Adult Outpatients in Early Stages of COVID-19.

INSIGHT 013 ITAC (NCT04546581): An International Multicenter, Adaptive, Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Anti-Coronavirus Hyperimmune Intravenous Immunoglobulin for the Treatment of Adult Hospitalized Patients at Onset of Clinical Progression of COVID-19.

InVITE (NCT05096091): A multicenter study of COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and durability, and breakthrough serious acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in people who receive a COVID-19 vaccine through their country's national vaccination programs.

STRIVE E1 (NCT05605093): Strategies and Treatments for Respiratory Infections & Viral Emergencies (STRIVE): Shionogi Protease Inhibitor.

STRIVE E2 (NCT05822583): Strategies and Treatments for Respiratory Infections & Viral Emergencies (STRIVE): Immune Modulation Strategy Trial.

Publications

Practical application of good participatory practices for trials of emerging pathogens: Developing materials for use in ACTIV-3, -3b, and ACTIV-associated COVID-19 trials, Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 2024

Prospective cohort study of patient demographics, viral agents, seasonality, and outcomes of influenza-like illness in Mexico in the late H1N1-pandemic and post-pandemic years (2010-2014), IJID Regions, 2024

Clinical and molecular characterization of children and adults with respiratory bocavirus infection in Mexico: a cross-sectional nested study within the ILI002 prospective observational study, Lancet Regional Health - Americas, 2023

International clinical research networks – a collaborative approach for pandemic preparedness and response: The case of The Mexican Emerging Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (LaRed), Journal of Global Health, 2023

Challenges of conducting an international observational study to assess immunogenicity of multiple COVID-19 vaccines, PLoS Global Public Health, 2023

Etiology, clinical characteristics, and risk factors associated with severe influenza-like illnesses in Mexican adults, IJID Regions, 2023

Guillain-Barré Syndrome Outbreak in Tapachula temporally associated with the Zika virus introduction in Southern Mexico, Epidemiology & Infection, 2022

Baricitinib versus dexamethasone for adults hospitalised with COVID-19 (ACTT-4): a randomised, double-blind, double placebo-controlled trial, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2022

Design of an observational multi-country cohort study to assess immunogenicity of multiple vaccine platforms (InVITE), PLoS One, 2022

Different Clinical Presentations of Human Rhinovirus Species Infection in Children and Adults in Mexico, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2022

Efficacy of interferon beta-1a plus remdesivir compared with remdesivir alone in hospitalised adults with COVID-19: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2021

Different epidemiological profiles in patients with Zika and dengue infection in Tapachula, Chiapas in Mexico (2016–2018): an observational, prospective cohort study, BMC Infectious Diseases, 2021

Comparison of the impact of Zika and dengue virus infection, and other acute illnesses of unidentified origin on cognitive functions in a prospective cohort in Chiapas Mexico, Frontiers in Neurology, 2021