Breakthroughs Blog: Research Roundup

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. Two recent announcements occurred regarding US international collaboration on global health research and development (R&D). Earlier this week, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Office of AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health announced a collaborative project with the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology to fight tuberculosis in India as part of the Indo-US Vaccine Action Program. On Tuesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the European Commission released the first report of the Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR), which is a joint commitment by the US and EU to fight antimicrobial resistance. Dr. Lucas Otieno Tina—a physician and researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute/US Army Medical Research Unit-Kenya collaboration program—writes in AllAfrica.com about why he has spent his career working to develop a malaria vaccine. He also discusses the promise of the RTS,S malaria vaccine and his involvement in the clinical trials for the vaccine supported by PATH’s Malaria Vaccine Initiative. Last week, the NTD Roundtable—a group of global health partners committed to fighting neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) —hosted briefings in the US House of Representatives and Senate to discuss America’s leadership in the fight against NTDs and the need for greater NTD R&D. The briefings were attended by representatives from key House and Senate committees, the NGO community, and the African diplomatic corps. Among other topics, participants discussed the need for the development of new diagnostic tools and treatments for NTDs. TechCrunch reports about a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Sure Chill Company in Wales, which has developed a way to store vaccines at a proper temperature without the need for an electrified or gas-powered refrigeration source. The technology reduces problems with vaccine distribution caused by vaccines that lose their efficacy without proper refrigeration.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. Joanne Carter—executive director of RESULTS Education Fund—writes about the negative impact the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2015 federal budgets cuts could have on the development of new treatments for tuberculosis (TB). The President’s FY 2015 budget has proposed a $45 million cut—or 19 percent reduction—to the US Agency for International Development’s TB budget. On the occasion of the first meeting on the world’s Global Health Security Agenda this week, Tom Frieden—director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—and Andy Weber—assistant secretary of defense—wrote a feature on CNN about why global health security matters to the US. They highlight the $40 million commitment by CDC and the Department of Defense to enable its 12 partner countries to strengthen their ability to prevent, detect, and effectively respond to infectious disease threats worldwide. The International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) announced this week that it has received the exclusive worldwide rights to dapivirine—a promising HIV prevention medicine—from Janssen R&D Ireland, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. This represents an expansion of IPM’s existing rights to develop, manufacture, and bring to market dapivrine-based products for women in resource-poor countries. The Washington Post Innovations Blog notes five reasons why we should be worried about the future of American innovation. It discusses how unstable and inadequate spending on research and development will stymie the future of scientific research and innovation. This week, the Council of the European Union approved the participation of the European Union in the second program of the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership. The second program will support all stages of clinical trials, from Phase I to IV, for HIV and AIDS, TB, malaria and neglected tropical diseases. The Washington Post Editorial Board argues that time is short to address antibiotic resistance in response to the World Health Organization’s warning last week that resistance to antibiotics has become a “major threat to public health.” The article notes that the overuse of antibiotics has bred drug resistance and that few new antibiotics are in the development pipeline to remedy the problem.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. GHTC member TB Alliance and partners announced this week that they have advanced the first-ever drug regimen designed to treat both drug-sensitive and some forms of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (TB) to a global Phase III clinical trial. The drug regimen—called PaMZ—is expected to reduce the cost of multi-drug resistant TB treatment by over 90 percent in some countries. This week in Seattle, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation convened the Global Health Product Development Forum—where more than 500 people will discuss how funders, researchers, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector can work together to accelerate the development and delivery of life-saving products. The United Kingdom has launched a five-year, £375 million fund to support science and innovation partnerships with researchers in low- and middle-income countries. The new fund will support joint research projects, student and researcher fellowships, capacity building, and translational research. The Kaiser Family Foundation has created an infographic that shows global health funding’s share of the US federal budget. The infographic highlights the recent flattening of US funding for global health and the major areas US global health funding goes to.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has formally launched its Global Development Lab—an initiative that hopes to bring greater innovation to ending extreme poverty. At an event in New York City, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Raj Shah officially launched the Lab, which will focus on six thematic areas: food security and nutrition, maternal and child survival, energy access, sustainable water solutions, child literacy, and “connected technologies.” According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, official development assistance grew by 6.1 percent worldwide in 2013 to $134.8 billion. Foreign aid for development in low- and middle-income countries hit record highs, especially in countries like the United Kingdom, Iceland, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said this week that health is a “great global connector” and that ignoring diseases in other nations will punish people everywhere. She added that nations not only have practical and economic reasons to fight diseases in other countries, but that they have a humanitarian reason as well. On World Health Day this week, the United Nations (UN) urged the international community to support a global health agenda that gives higher priority to fighting vector-borne diseases. Vector-borne diseases—like malaria, dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis—“cause chronic illness and immense suffering for hundreds of millions [of people],” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.