UTHSCT Physicians Help Lead Clinical Trial of New Drug

TYLER — Two physicians at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler are helping lead a clinical trial of a new drug that they say offers significant hope to people suffering from mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), a rare but serious lung disease. David Griffith, M.D., and Richard Wallace, M.D., are co-principal investigators in the study designed to determine if inhaled liposomal amikacin (trade name ARIKACE) can help patients with MAC and other nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung diseases.

“The rate of MAC lung disease is increasing in the United States. And it is difficult to treat,” said Dr. Wallace, an infectious disease specialist who is nationally known for his success in treating people with MAC. Dr. Griffith, a pulmonary physician at UTHSCT, agreed. “While almost 98 percent of the people who contract tuberculosis are successfully treated, only 75% of people with MAC are cured. This drug offers the remaining 25 percent the hope of better treatment outcomes,” he said.

Dr. Griffith is the lead author of diagnosis and treatment guidelines for NTM approved by the American Thoracic Society and the Infectious Disease Society of America. MAC is the most common NTM to cause infections in people. Dr. Wallace recently was ranked in the top 1% of U.S. physicians who treat MAC by U.S. News and World Report magazine.