Research Roundup: What we’re reading this week

Research!America, a member of the GHTC, recently conducted analyses in target states to measure the health and economic impact of global health research and development (R&D), highlighting its benefits for states across the nation and strengthening the evidence base for Congress’ support of federal investments in global health R&D. This is the sixth and last post in a series. "If you want to live longer and healthier than the average American, then come to New York City,” Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced in December 2011. The city’s life expectancy for a 40-year old in 2009 was 82, compared with 80.1 for the rest of the United States. Babies born in New York City in 2009 will see an increase of nearly three years on their life spans, versus 1.5 years nationwide. With the leadership of the mayor, who has an outstanding track record on public health leadership, and the dedication of its health commissioners, New York City has significantly brought down its rates of tuberculosis (TB) and stabilized the growth of new HIV infections over the last two decades. This leadership in public health also translates into a strong commitment to R&D. New York City has the world’s largest concentration of major academic research centers and the largest bioscience workforce of any city in the United States. The state is home to seven of the top 50 American research universities and attracts increased investment in the sciences with a 9 percent corporate tax break for R&D facilities. Combined with the commitment of its elected officials—and economic drivers like the new applied sciences campus, NYCTech, on Roosevelt Island—New York institutions are creating partnerships that transform how we do the business of health research. It is projected that NYCTech could in turn provide up to $150 million in seed money for up to 600 new local start-ups, which could generate an estimated 30,000 new jobs. Partnerships for health R&D contribute to the health and economy of New York, and the effects of these partnerships are felt around the world. After the National Institutes of Health, New York’s International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has the largest AIDS vaccine development program and partners with more than 50 other institutions to conduct research and clinical trials. The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), also headquartered in the Big Apple, manages the largest, most comprehensive portfolio of TB drug candidates ever. With the first cases of totally drug resistant TB identified in India earlier this year, identifying improved strategies to control TB has never been more critical. New York City has the world’s largest concentration of major academic research centers and the largest bioscience workforce of any city in the United States. Photo credit: PATH Public-private partnerships like IAVI and the TB Alliance rely in part on support from the federal government. Unfortunately, President Obama’s proposed fiscal year 2013 budget raises concerns for health R&D. “Public funding is evaporating at a time of tremendous opportunity. We’re on the brink of delivering potentially revolutionary new treatments for tuberculosis, with similar great promise in other areas of global health,” said Mel Spiegelman, president of TB Alliance. Former New York City Health Commissioner and current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden agrees with the need for sustained federal investment to protect the health and safety of Americans at home and abroad. “There are still far too many people who die from conditions that are easily preventable. Continued investments will help millions more live healthy and productive lives while helping to protect our own country from health threats,” he said.

Emily Halnon is the Communications Associate at GHTC. Below is her reaction to Sustaining progress: Creating US policies to spur global health innovation, the third annual briefing hosted by GHTC. After attending GHTC’s annual briefing yesterday, it is nearly impossible, and arguably fully impossible, to come up with any reason as to why the US should not invest in global health research and development (R&D). The four panelists at the event, representing a range of US agencies and global health organizations, were full of countless examples that show what a remarkable difference US leadership in global health R&D has made around the world. The most obvious impact that this leadership has had is through saving millions of lives around the world through the development of health tools like drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics. As Kemy Monahan, the deputy executive director of the Global Health Initiative and one of the panelists, said: US investments in global health R&D have saved “not just a few lives, [but] lots of lives.” Kevin De Cock, the director of the Center for Global Health at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stressed that due to the “indivisibility of domestic and foreign health,”investing in global health R&D is not just benefiting communities in remote regions overseas. It also improves the health of Americans and protects people all around the world from infectious diseases. Col. Peter Weina, deputy commander of Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), reinforced the importance of global health R&D in our borderless society by listing numerous ways that WRAIR’s R&D successes—from producing the first influenza vaccine to starting work on almost every antimalarial in existence—have helped protect US troops from infectious diseases like malaria and leishmaniasis, and in turn, every community they reach across the globe. A theme that resonated through the message that every panelist delivered was the importance of US agency collaboration. Kemy Monahan emphasized the success that has come from the GHI encouraging US agencies to work together to maximize results. And Marc LaForce, the Director of the Meningitis Vaccine Project, talked about how MenAfriVac, a meningitis vaccine that is already saving countless lives in Africa, was made possible through the collaboration of several US agencies, including CDC, the National Institutes of Health, the US Agency for International Development, and the Food and Drug Adminstration. Marc also stressed the critical need for US funding to see this work to the finish line: “with sufficient funding, this epidemic is likely to be pretty much over in the next 10 years.” The speakers and Karen Goraleski, Executive Director of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and moderator at the briefing, also stressed the numerous domestic benefits of global health R&D in addition to the millions of lives saved across the globe. These benefits include increased national security, economic growth, and job creation. Goraleski emphasized that healthy populations produce stable economies, and countries with stable economies have stable governments, leading to a more secure global community. While there is no denying that this is a time of severe budget austerity, there was consensus in the room yesterday that investing in global health innovations is cost-effective and a smart decision for US policymakers. "These are difficult problems buy they are very, very solvable," said Senator Boozman at the GHTC annual briefing When US Senator John Boozman (R-AR) addressed the audience, he emphasized how far we’ve come, and how critical coordination between US agencies has been. “We’ve made tremendous progress. Working together, we can be proud of our progress.” As US policymakers consider whether to invest in global health R&D, they need to consider the countless achievements that yesterday’s speakers highlighted, and the fact that without a US commitment to the R&D needed to produce these lifesaving tools and technologies, many of these would not be possible. Col. Weina closed his remarks by stressing that the US cannot “rest on the laurels” of the past accomplishments made to address global health threats. A continued investment in global health R&D is critical to ensure that we continue to produce the game-changing innovations that are saving lives, fueling our economy, and providing good jobs across America.