Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC)

Vasculitis refers to a group of rare diseases that involve inflammation of blood vessels, which disrupts blood flow and often causes damage to the body’s organs. The cause of most forms of vasculitis remains unknown, and treatments involve the use of strong medications that can have serious side effects. The Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC) is an international, multicenter clinical research infrastructure for the study of vasculitis. Established in 2003, the various projects of the VCRC have included more than 100 academic medical centers around the world dedicated to the study of vasculitis. The VCRC focuses on conducting clinical trials of new therapies for vasculitis, studying the genetics of these diseases, discovering new blood tests to help monitor and understand these diseases, conducting online research, and training young scientists in the study of vasculitis. The VCRC will continue its efforts to better understand and treat vasculitis by conducting new clinical trials and expanding and utilizing the VCRC Clinical Data Repository, the VCRC Biospecimen Repository, and the VCRC Tissue Repository. All of these activities involve a strong partnership with patients and advocacy groups.

The Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC) is part of the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN), which is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) through its Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation (DRDRI). VCRC is funded under grant number U54AR057319 as a collaboration between NCATS and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). All RDCRN consortia are supported by the network’s Data Management and Coordinating Center (DMCC) (U2CTR002818). Funding support for the DMCC is provided by NCATS and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).