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. Japan’s National Institute of Biomedical Innovation (NIBIO), GHTC member Aeras, and Create Vaccine Company have entered an agreement to collaborate on preclinical and clinical development of new tuberculosis vaccines. The partnership will advance vaccine candidates with the NIBIO technology through preclinical studies, with the goal of eventually testing candidates at clinical trial stages. According to SciDev, the UK Department for International Development (DFID)’s budget for research and development has fallen under the current government. DFID’s research budget in 2011-2012 was £11 million—or about US$18 million—below the £237 million that was available in 2009-2010, prior to the coalition government coming to power. In response to a US congressman, Roger Glass—director of the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—made the case for global health research supported by NIH. Glass writes: “In almost every branch of medicine, research overseas has allowed us to advance our discoveries faster, cheaper, and more efficiently than we ever could have at home. We are leaders in global health because we have been able to reach out and engage others to do studies that are locally relevant but can have clear implications for us at home. Global health research truly is the new frontier of science.” amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research has launched a new initiative—called Countdown to a Cure—aimed at funding a “broadly applicable cure for HIV by 2020.” The initiative plans to invest $100 million in cure research over the next six years.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. In this year’s State of the Union, President Obama mentioned “federally-funded research” and recognized that “there are entire industries based on vaccines that stay ahead of drug-resistant bacteria.” While a modest statement, the President’s recognition of these important US contributions to global health is significant. Last week during the World Health Organization Executive Board meeting, Member States met to discuss moving forward on eight demonstration projects that would look at new ways to spur research and development (R&D) for diseases that affect populations in low- and middle-income countries. However, some advocates were disappointed that the topic of alternative funding mechanisms for global health R&D was not substantively debated. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced this week that the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) 004 Tenofovir gel trial was the winner of the agency’s Science and Technology Pioneers Prize. The prize recognizes “excellence in the use of science and technology to solve development challenges.” This is the first year USAID has awarded the prize. The Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve access to health interventions through the strengthening of regulatory systems. The partnership could improve and accelerate access to health interventions and therapeutic products in resource-constraint countries.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. The Guardian wrote about the importance of the World Health Organization’s prequalification of medicines program (PQP): “The PQP has been a fantastic success story, giving a stamp of approval to good quality generics and allowing the governments of developing countries to buy effective versions of essential drugs they can afford.” However, the article argues that if the program is to become more sustainable, it needs to diversify its funding. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has entered into two partnerships with South African institutions to develop new drugs and vaccines against HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The multi-year, multimillion-rand partnerships are with the Medical Research Council's Strategic Health Innovation Partnerships and the University of Cape Town's Drug Discovery and Development Centre. The Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development program has submitted a fourth round of requests for applications. The challenge seeks to identify and develop transformative approaches that integrate new technologies, better service delivery models, and improved “demand side” innovations that empower pregnant women and their families. Bill and Melinda Gates dispel three myths that block progress for the poor in their 2014 annual letter. The co-founders of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation address why poor countries aren’t doomed to stay poor, why foreign aids isn’t a big waste, and that saving lives doesn’t lead to overpopulation.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. GHTC member the International Vaccine Institute and the Institute for Translational Vaccinology have agree to collaborate on vaccine research and development and to promote capacity building in low- and middle-income countries. The partnership will focus on improving available technologies, as well as regulatory processes. The House and Senate Committees on Appropriations have released a fiscal year (FY) 2014 omnibus appropriations bill . Funding for global health programs at the US Agency for International Development saw some increases, while the National Institutes of Health remains woefully underfunded—even with an increase of $1 billion over last year’s post-sequestration levels. Results of an early-stage clinical trial show that stem cells taken from patients’ own bone marrow could be used to treat multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). More tests will be required before this treatment option is validated as a possible alternative to current TB drugs. New research from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine has found that a form of malaria attacks red blood cells by “clamping down on cells with a pair of proteins.” This finding may aid scientists in the design of better vaccines and drugs against malaria.