BEACON is comprised of research groups at leading academic medical centers in the United States, with roots of collaboration and success stemming from decades of work. We have enrolled over 100,000 participants into clinical research studies and consistently produce results that are meaningful to patients, health systems, and funders.
1994
Research teams at many of the BEACON member sites launched the ARDS Network in 1994
Research teams at many of the BEACON member sites launched the ARDS Network in 1994, which conducted several of the most foundational clinical trials in critical care, including the ARMA trial (New England Journal of Medicine 342: 1301) that demonstrated a survival benefit for low tidal volume ventilation and the FACTT trial that demonstrated the benefits of conservative fluid management (New England Journal of Medicine 354: 2564) among patients with ARDS.
2014
The ARDS Network transitioned into the PETAL Network
In 2014, the ARDS Network transitioned into the PETAL Network, with a focus on prevention and early treatment of severe medical illness before the later stages of organ failure. The PETAL Network made fundamental contributions to the field of acute care medicine, including the CLOVERS trial (New England Journal of Medicine 388: 499) that demonstrated a vasopressor-focused approach and fluids- focused approach to early resuscitation of septic shock results in similar clinical outcomes, the VIOLET trial (New England Journal of Medicine 381: 2529) that showed vitamin D repletion in acutely ill patients with lung injury and vitamin D deficiency does not improve clinical outcomes, and the ORCHID trial (JAMA 324:2165), which demonstrated no efficacy for hydroxychloroquine early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
The IVY Network was developed by a subset of the PETAL Network
In 2019, the IVY Network was developed by a subset of the PETAL Network with a deep interest in viral infections to study the epidemiology of viral infections causing critical illness and the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent and mitigate those illnesses. The IVY Network produced one of the first descriptions of Long Covid (MMWR 69: 993), and a series of rigorous studies demonstrating the benefits of vaccination for the prevention of severe morbidity and mortality from viral infections (JAMA 326: 2043; JAMA 334: 1442).
2021
BEACON investigators launch the ACTIV-4 Host Tissue platform
In 2021, BEACON investigators launched the ACTIV-4 Host Tissue platform to evaluate therapies for Covid-19. The group conducted a series of FDA-registration placebo-controlled clinical trials, producing the most robust evidence in the world on renin angiotensin system (RAS) modulation in Covid-19 (JAMA 329: 1170).
2022
BEACON was a founding member of the Strategies and Treatments for Respiratory Infections and Viral Emergencies (STRIVE) Network.
The STRIVE Network is an international clinical trials group focused on conducting trials of international importance in infectious diseases.
2023
BEACON investigators launch the ARDS, Pneumonia, and Sepsis (APS) Consortium
In 2023, BEACON investigators were instrumental in launching the ARDS, Pneumonia, and Sepsis (APS) Consortium, a multicenter observational platform with enrollment of thousands of critically ill adults across the US. The APS Consortium is working to enhance biological understanding of critical illness syndromes by phenotyping these syndromes into biologically based subsets. A goal is to identify target populations and mechanistic pathways for future clinical trials.
2026
BEACON develops a clinical trials program, STOP ARDS, with Prenosis, Inc. and BARDA
BEACON partnered with Prenosis, Inc. and BARDA to develop a clinical trials program to evaluate precision algorithms for identifying which patients hospitalized with pneumonia benefit from treatment with corticosteroids (the STOP ARDS trial).