Kim Lufkin

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. A new article in Science assesses President Obama’s record on promoting international scientific collaboration through the lenses of diplomacy, international development, and the operational requirements for scientific exchange. Devex examines how pharmaceutical companies are undertaking new research and development models to create products for developing countries, including forming product development partnerships with nongovernment organizations and foundations. A new issue of the Lancet includes a profile piece on the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health. NCATS aims to “cut the time, cost, and failure rate of bringing laboratory research through to successful clinical medicine.” An inexpensive liquid test that could help detect low levels of viruses and some cancers has been developed by researchers from Imperial College London, who say that the test could lead to more widespread testing for HIV and other diseases in parts of the world where other methods are unaffordable. Several recent studies on the influenza virus indicate that seasonal flu shots could become a thing of the past, replaced by long-lasting vaccines.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. Leading US science organizations have developed a list of 14 policy questions facing the country in 2012, which presidential candidates Barack Obama (D) and Mitt Romney (R) have answered online. An article in the Lancet looks at innovative financing sources for global health, which have become increasingly important as the continued global economic crisis means that increased financing from traditional donors is unlikely in the near term. Scientists with the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa recently announced a discovery that could aid efforts to develop an HIV and AIDS vaccine. A new article in Infectious Diseases of Poverty examines how to spur innovation and product development for diseases endemic to developing countries. BIO Ventures for Global Health presents an analysis of the drug and vaccine development pipeline to identify products that meet eligibility criteria to earn a priority review voucher (PRV) from the US Food and Drug Administration, and to predict the number of PRVs that will be issued over the next 10 years.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. GHTC members the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics have announced a partnership that aims to coordinate the development of complementary new tools to fight tuberculosis (TB). In related news, GHTC member Aeras has released its annual report and a new infographic about the global burden of TB and the need to develop new products to control the disease. The Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth has announced five innovative research projects that aim to prevent premature birth worldwide. The initiative seeks to discover biological mechanisms that lead to preterm birth and develop innovative strategies for prevention, with particular focus on solutions relevant to low- and middle-income countries. A new study defines factors that can lead to successful open-source drug discovery for neglected diseases. GHTC member Research!America has released a list that details the top 10 reasons the United States should invest in global health research and development.

Over the past few weeks—as Congress worked on a budget deal to keep the federal government running through the end of March 2013—several global health and international development groups released new reports about what looming, across-the-board cuts would do to these programs worldwide. Groups are worried about the likely devastating impact of sequestration on US-funded global health, research, science, and development programs. Sequestration would require a reduction in government spending of $109 billion per year for nine years, beginning in January 2013. It’s expected that the resulting indiscriminate, across-the-board cuts would result in a 9.4 percent cut for most defense programs relevant to global health—including global health research and development (R&D) programs at the Department of Defense (DoD). Non-defense programs—including most programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the State Department, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID)—that are not exempt from cuts would receive an 8.2 percent cut. Some groups are worried about the likely devastating impact of sequestration on US-funded global health, research, science, and development programs. Below, we provide a round-up of some of these new analysis pieces, detailing the human impact of these sweeping cuts. In an updated analysis, amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, recalculated its estimates on the human impact of budget sequestration on global health. The analysis finds that as the result of sequestration, HIV and AIDS treatment for 276,500 people worldwide will not be available, potentially leading to 63,000 more AIDS-related deaths and 124,000 more children becoming orphans. In addition, 112,500 fewer HIV-positive pregnant women will receive services to prevent transmission to their children, leading to more than 21,000 infants being infected with HIV. The analysis finds that 2.2 million fewer insecticide-treated nets will be procured, leading to nearly 6,000 deaths due to malaria, and that 60,000 fewer people with tuberculosis will receive treatment, leading to 7,000 more deaths from the disease. A new analysis from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) finds that sequestration would “no doubt have significant impacts on federal funding of science, research, and innovation.” The analysis aims to provide a complete picture of the size of these potential cuts by estimating budget impacts for most key R&D agencies, and the funding ramifications by state, over the next five years. It found that the NIH could receive a cut of $11.3 billion over five years, averaging $2.3 billion less per year for research. The DoD could average $6.7 billion less for R&D per year, while the National Science Foundation could receive $2.1 billion less over five years. Total cuts through fiscal year 2017 would amount to $57.5 billion. “The resulting R&D budgets at most agencies would be lower than they've been in several years,” according to AAAS. Bread for the World has released a document that details the impact of sequestration on the international affairs budget. It finds that sequestration would result in reductions to international affairs funding that would entail about $1.7 billion in cuts to poverty-focused development accounts, including a $670 million cut to global health programs. These cuts would mean “[m]ore lives would be needlessly lost due to infectious disease and more children would be born HIV-positive,” according to the analysis. Research!America has also released an updated analysis on how sequestration would affect health research and science at key US agencies. Based on fiscal year 2012 numbers, the report finds that the NIH could lose $2.5 billion, the CDC could lose $479 million, and the FDA could lose $318 million for their R&D efforts. Sequestration would ultimately put health research “at the breaking point,” according to the report. With most members of Congress gearing up for the November elections, we hope that they’re paying attention to these reports and listening to the chorus of voices calling for a real, long-term solution to the budget. Both Mitt Romneyand Barack Obama have been taking about foreign assistance lately, and the issue will stay on the candidates’ minds as they participate in an upcoming debate focused on international issues. Preventing sequestration needs to be a priority in these conversations.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. GHTC member Aeras has announced that it has signed an agreementwith GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines (GSK) to jointly advance the development of a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate. A new series in the Financial Times looks at neglected tropical diseases, including their economic burden, the need for improved treatment methods, and the need for research and development funding. Genocea Biosciences, a company that advances vaccines for infectious diseases, has raised $30 million in new funding from groups like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. An article examines how the priority review voucher program, an “innovative funding model for research into neglected diseases,” has “finally come of age.” GSK also announced this week that it plans to make clinical trial data available to other researchers, as well as open its TB compound library to help stimulate research.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. Cipla and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative recently announced that their malaria drug has been prequalified by the World Health Organization, an important step toward its roll-out across Asia. A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides a comprehensive look at the Department of Defense's role in global health, including the department’s research and product development efforts. The US Food and Drug Administration has awarded GHTC member Aeras a grant worth $299,525 to spur the development of new vaccines against tuberculosis. A new study finds that the way medical research is funded in the United States has been vastly altered over the last 20 years by advocates asking that research be focused on particular diseases. A widespread vaccination campaign to protect 50 million people against meningitis with a new vaccine has been launched in seven African countries, health officials said Thursday.