PANNA Network

A network of European centres collects European pharmacokinetic data in pregnant women. The initiator of this European network is Prof. Dr. David Burger at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Netherlands. Dr. Angela Colbers is the coordinator of the PANNA study. The PANNA network is powered by NEAT, PENTA, MerckBMSJanssen, CTN (CIHR Canadian HIV trials Network), ViiV Healthcare and Gilead .

Why setting up a European Network?

In the US, a network performing PK studies (amongst other research) in pregnant women is in place: IMPAACT (formerly PACTG). The US population is a different patient population compared to the European population.

The EMA requires data in the European population as well: “patients entering clinical trials should be reasonably representative of the population that will be later treated by the drug”. In Europe, the demographics of HIV-infected pregnant women (Caucasian females and females born in Sub-Saharan Africa) are different from the US population.

Selection of centres

Recruitment of centres started in 2008. At this moment the network consists of 25 centres in 7 different countries. The centres were selected on:

  1. capability of doing 12h or 24h PK recordings
  2. access to a research unit/clinical ward for in-house PK sampling
  3. research nurse & lab facilities (handling, storage)
  4. large clinical site (>40 deliveries/year)
  5. having a multidisciplinary team (ID specialist, gynaecologists/obstetricians, paediatricians)

On the application page you can apply as a new study centre.

The PANNA network and other antivirals

In the PANNA network the first aim is to study newly developed ARVs of which no or limited PK data during pregnancy are available. However, this network could be used to study other antiviral compounds as well (for example against hepatitis C).