News and announcements

Press releases and announcements are listed chronologically, starting with the most recent.

February 2012

PBS spotlights cost savings of preventing NTDs

February 23, 2012 -- Following the recent announcement that a group of international partners is increasing its investment in the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), PBS’s The Rundown blog interviewed two officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the impact NTDs have on the developing world and why more work needs to be done to combat them. In the video post, Dr. Mark Eberhardt, who specializes in NTDs, and Dr. Stephen Cochi, a measles and polio specialist, describe the effects NTDs have on society and cost savings that would occur if NTDs were eradicated. Read more.

OWH’s treatment for kala-azar gains registration in Nepal

February 22, 2012 -- Today we are thrilled to announce that our antibiotic Paromomycin Intramuscular Injection (PMIM), developed to treat visceral leishmaniasis (VL or kala-azar), has been registered by the government of Nepal. This is the second registration for PMIM in South Asia. It was previously registered with the government of India and added to the National Lists of Essential Medicines of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It was also added to the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines. Read more.

MMV announces delivery of 100 million treatments of child-friendly malaria drug

February 22, 2012 -- This week, GHTC member Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) announced that more than 100 million child-friendly malaria treatments have been delivered to 39 malaria-endemic countries since 2009. MMV partnered with Novartis in 2003 to begin research and development (R&D) for a drug to address the need for more pediatric medicines to treat the disease. In Africa, children are disproportionately affected by the disease with 86 percentof deaths from malaria occurring in children under the age of five. The development of this child-friendly drug, called Coartem® Dispersible, represents a key success story in R&D for malaria. Read more.

Global health R&D in New Jersey: Building on strong private-sector investment

February 21, 2012 -- When people think of hotspots for global health R&D, the state of New Jersey may not immediately come to mind. But it should. Despite ranking eleventh in population size, New Jersey ranks third in R&D investment among states, thanks mainly to robust private-sector investment. Health R&D is a pillar of New Jersey’s economy and is critical to economic growth in the state. Despite the current economic climate, R&D spending in New Jersey increased by 11.4 percent in 2010, and global R&D spending was up by $1.4 billion, according to a 2011 report by the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey, implying even more future economic benefits for the state. Read more.

Fighting TB in India, one lab at a time

February 17, 2012 -- India is a country that changes dramatically from place to place, something I experienced firsthand while on a two week trip there this past fall. One day I was listening in on a mothers’ group meeting in one of the poorest villages in Uttar Pradesh state, and less than 24 hours later I was standing in one of the world’s most technologically advanced airports in Hyderabad—often referred to as the ‘Silicon Valley’ of India. It was during this leg of my journey where I was further convinced of the need for sustained investment in research and development. Read more.

Science Speaks highlights CDC’s work in global health R&D

February 17, 2012 -- Science Speaks, the Center for Global Healthy Policy blog on HIV and tuberculosis (TB) news, recently started a series of posts to profile the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the important role the agency plays in HIV and TB research and development (R&D). For the first post in the series, Science Speaks interviewed Kayla Laserson, director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)/CDC Field Research Station, about the research that KEMRI/CDC is doing to address HIV, malaria, TB, and other emerging infectious diseases. Read more.

Open innovation spurs global health R&D

February 16, 2012 -- As pharmaceutical companies increase their engagement in global health research in various ways, there is more and more talk of “open innovation.” For research and development (R&D) purposes, open innovation involves pharmaceutical companies sharing data, sometimes entire libraries of information, with the public so researchers can use this information to create candidates for drugs and other products. This type of data sharing can help spur R&D for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) primarily found in the developing world, which have not traditionally garnered large investments from pharmaceutical companies. As Nature reports, most recently the World Health Organization (WHO) included open innovation in its road map to control NTDs, with 11 companies offering to share their intellectual property. Read more.

Global health R&D: A smart investment for Illinois

February 14, 2012 -- “The world is interconnected, and that demands an integrated approach to global health,” President Obama stated when he announced the US Global Health Initiative on May 5, 2009. His former neighbors in Illinois agree. More than 50 percent of Illinoisans think more about global health today than they did five years ago, and for good reason. In addition to innumerable health benefits worldwide, global health research and development (R&D) has an important economic impact on the state of Illinois. Read more.

President Obama releases fiscal year 2013 budget

February 14, 2012 -- Yesterday, President Obama sent Congress his $3.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2013. While the majority of increased spending would be allocated to domestic programs, there are several decreases in global health spending compared with FY 2012 levels. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s global health tracker, among the notable decreases the White House has proposed are cuts to the Global Health Initiative (GHI), most global health accounts at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as some funding levels at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Defense (DoD). All of these agencies play a critical role in supporting global health research and development (R&D) for new health products such as vaccines, drugs, diagnostic tools, and microbicides. Read more.

Gates Foundation announces grants for research to develop new tools to diagnose TB

February 9, 2012 -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it is investing $7.7 million in ten new grants for research to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) in developing countries. Currently, laboratory-based technology is used to diagnose the disease, but this is often problematic due to lack of access for some patients, the length of time it takes for results to be reported, and the high number of active TB cases that it fails to detect. The grants will help promote the research that is needed to develop new low-cost, simple-to-use tools to more efficiently and accurately diagnose TB. Read more.

Pharmaceutical companies more involved in global health

February 9, 2012 -- Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly engaging in global health, and have recently joined efforts to conduct research and development (R&D) for more affordable global health products. For example, over the past two decades, prices for drugs, vaccines, and other health products from large pharmaceutical companies have decreased. This has mainly been due to the fact that pharmaceutical companies have seen the benefits of developing health products at prices affordable to low- and middle-income countries, according to a recent article in the Harvard College Global Health Review (HCGHR). Read more.

Patents for humanity

February 9, 2012 -- Sweeping revolutions in technology continue to fundamentally redefine the way we connect with one another and interact with the world. Today, an entrepreneur can do business with a remote village across an ocean just as quickly as a student in Boston can video-conference with a professor in Beijing. Political rallies can be organized by the click of a button, while gripping images of that rally can be shared across continents with a single tweet. Read more.

Global health research in Maryland: Health is wealth

February 7, 2012 -- Maryland is home to two federal health powerhouses, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest medical research institute. Together, they employ 25,000 people. Silver Spring’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is engaged in global health research to protect our military personnel from infectious threats they may encounter in the field. And Marylanders see the direct benefits of that research: 82 percent recognize that American civilians benefit from the health research conducted by the military, according to a poll commissioned by Research!America. Read more.

Drug candidate could treat two neglected diseases

February 7, 2012 -- Researchers at the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom are investigating whether fexinidazole, a treatment undergoing Phase I trials for the neglected tropical disease (NTD) African sleeping sickness, might also be a candidate for treating the NTD leishmaniasis. Read more.

Progress announced in TB vaccine and drug development

February 1, 2012 -- GHTC member Aeras has announced a collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in order to work on a clinical trial for a new vaccine to prevent tuberculosis (TB). The vaccine was jointly developed by Aeras and Crucell, a biopharmaceutical company from the Netherlands. The clinical trial for the vaccine began in October 2010, in Kenya, South Africa, and Mozambique, and is testing the safety and efficacy of the vaccine candidate in HIV-negative infants. Read more.

January 2012

Groups pledge to invest in R&D to tackle NTDs by 2020

January 31, 2012 -- At high-level event in London, a group of international partners announced support for a new plan to address 10 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020. At the event, ‘United to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases’, several organizations endorsed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) NTD 2020 Roadmap, which aims to develop new treatments and other health tools to eliminate or control targeted NTDs by 2020. Partners include 13 pharmaceutical companies, the Word Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and GHTC member the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative. The governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates also pledged support. Read more.

CDC researcher highlights science and research in the fight against TB

January 27, 2012 -- Kevin Cain, chief of the tuberculosis (TB) branch for the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KEMRI/CDC) partnership, wrote a blog post this week for Global Health Frontline News about the importance of research to identify new ways to treat and prevent the disease. Read more.

US Government is increasingly funding infectious disease research

January 27, 2012 -- The Washington Post recently examined how since 2006, the US Government has been increasing its support for research and development (R&D) for infectious diseases. US Government spending on research for some infectious diseases has increased more than 660 percent, from $54 million in 2006 to $415 million last year. This research has gone to efforts to develop new vaccines, antibiotics, and other treatments. Read more.

Sabin announces start of trial for first human hookworm vaccine

January 23, 2012 -- A GHTC member announced last week that a clinical trial for the first-ever hookworm vaccine is now underway. The Sabin Vaccine Institute started a Phase I clinical trial of the Na-GST-1 antigen in Brazil, a country with high rates of hookworm infection. The trial is conducted through a vaccine product development partnership (PDP) headquartered at Sabin, which also involves the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The trial will involve 102 adults, who will each receive three injections over the course of four months. After receiving all three injections, each volunteer will be monitored for safe responses to the vaccine, and researchers will analyze the immune responses in each recipient. Pending positive results from this trial, Sabin will next conduct a trial to test the vaccine in children—the age group that will ultimately be targeted to receive the vaccine. Read more.

GHTC member argues against cuts to vital military medical research

January 23, 2012 -- GHTC member the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) recently wrote an opinion piece for the Atlantic, urging against cuts to critical medical research that is protecting American troops from tropical diseases. Peter Hotez and James Kazura—the past and current presidents of ASTMH, respectively—highlight the cost-effective programs at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) that have been saving lives for decades. According to the authors, research supported by WRAIR continues to help soldiers as they travel around the world and come into contact with dangerous tropical disease threats. Read more.

Aeras to partner with leading Chinese biotechnology company to develop TB vaccines

January 19, 2012 -- GHTC member Aeras will begin collaborating with the leading Chinese biotechnology corporation China National Biotech Group (CNBG) to develop a new vaccine to fight tuberculosis (TB). This announcement comes shortly after several cases of TB resistant to all first- and second-line drugs were reported in India. Read more.

GHTC member seeks projects to propel malaria drug discovery

January 18, 2012 -- Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV)—a GHTC member working to discover, develop, and deliver antimalarial drugs—has issued a call for proposals to help spur malaria drug discovery. The organization will award up to ten $50,000 MMV Challenge Grants in the first quarter of 2012. Read more.

First-ever Health and Human Services global health strategy includes goal to catalyze research and innovation

January 11, 2012 -- Last week, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its first-ever global health strategy to help the agency increasingly engage in efforts to improve the health and well-being of people around the world. While emphasizing the need for this new strategy, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that “today, we can no longer separate global health from America’s health…We need to look beyond our borders to improve health inside our country.” Read more.

GHTC member launches campaign to eliminate seven major neglected diseases

January 11, 2012 -- This week, GHTC member the Sabin Vaccine Institute launched END7, a new campaign dedicated to eliminating seven major neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as a public health threat by the end of 2020. END 7 is run by the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. It aims to raise awareness about the threat of NTDs and secure funds to help distribute medicine and provide treatment in the poorest communities. Read more.

FDA launches new blog

January 11, 2012 -- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently launched a new blog, called FDAVoice. The blog will feature posts by FDA's senior leadership and staff stationed in the United States and abroad in an effort to share news, announcements, and other information about the work done at the FDA. Read more.

Science names HIV prevention trial as the 2011 breakthrough of the year

January 4, 2012 -- The journal Science recently named an HIV prevention trial as the 2011 breakthrough of the year. The HPTN 052 clinical trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), found that if HIV-positive heterosexual individuals begin taking antiretroviral drugs when their immune systems are relatively healthy, as opposed to delaying therapy until the disease has advanced, they are 96 percent less likely to transmit the virus to their uninfected partners. Read more.

December 2011

Appropriations agreement includes funding for global health, new NIH center

December 22, 2011 -- A joint House-Senate Conference Committee recently finalized an appropriations bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 that includes funding for global health programs through the State Department, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read more.

WHO group to recommend treaty to fund global health R&D

December 20, 2011 -- A World Health Organization (WHO) working group has narrowed proposals under consideration for ways to fund research and development (R&D) for diseases that predominately affect impoverished populations. Read more.

GHTC member releases video highlighting product development partnerships

December 15, 2011 -- After hosting a Congressional briefing last month to highlight the critical role of product development partnerships (PDPs) in global health research, GHTC member Research!America has released a video to show footage from the event. PDPs—which receive funding from the public, private and philanthropic sector—play a critical role in producing new lifesaving tools to help people around the world. Read more.

Malaria report reveals a decline in global deaths, shows a need to continue funding for research

December 13, 2011 -- A report released this week shows that while global malaria deaths are on the decline, there is still a critical need to invest in the research and development for new prevention and treatment tools that will help protect this fragile progress against the disease. Read more.

GHTC members author op-ed on need to sustain funding for global health R&D

December 13, 2011 -- In an op-ed in The Hill’s Congress Blog, GHTC Director Kaitlin Christensen, along with coalition members Jim Connolly, president and CEO of Aeras, and Mel Spigelman, president and CEO of the TB Alliance, call for sustained support for global health research and development funding (R&D) in response to a report released last week that shows this critical funding is declining. Read more.

TIME magazine names malaria vaccine trial results a Top Breakthrough of 2011

December 12, 2011 -- TIME Magazine recognized the results from a malaria vaccine trial—conducted by GHTC member PATH through its Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to PATH—as one of the top ten medical breakthroughs of 2011. Read more.

Report tracking global health funding for neglected disease R&D released

December 9, 2011 -- Today, Policy Cures released the fourth annual G-FINDER report, which tracks the trends in the levels of global funding in 2010 to develop new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other tools for 31 neglected diseases. Read more.

World AIDS Day: US leaders celebrate research progress

December 2, 2011 -- On December 1, President Obama celebrated World AIDS Day by vowing to step up the role of the United States in the fight against the disease. At an event where former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush joined him by satellite, he announced several new commitments to help drive the global effort to fight HIV/AIDS as he stressed his belief that the world will soon achieve an AIDS-free generation. Read more.

November 2011

HIV prevention trial modified; Sponsor remains committed to HIV prevention research

November 29, 2011 -- The Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) has announced that a clinical trial to determine whether using daily antiretrovirals and a vaginal gel can help prevent HIV will be modified after researchers concluded the gel was not effective among study participants. Read more.

Top five ways for pharmaceutical industry to address neglected diseases

November 29, 2011 -- In a blog post on Forbes, contributor Sarika Bansal suggests the top five ways that pharmaceutical companies can contribute to drug development for neglected diseases. Read more.

Groups offer proposal to improve funding for global health R&D

November 29, 2011 -- Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Doctors without Borders, and the Third World Network recently released a proposal to a World Health Organization (WHO) working group on funding global health research and development (R&D). Read more.

GHTC Director highlights progress in developing new interventions for HIV/AIDS

November 21, 2011 -- GHTC director Kaitlin Christenson recently wrote a post for the ONE blog about four game-changing HIV/AIDS treatments and the leadership from the US government that has helped foster these critical research breakthroughs. Read more.

NIH working to enhance treatment options for global health diseases

November 17, 2011 -- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is launching a new set of projects through its Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program to develop drugs to treat rare and neglected diseases. Read more.

GHTC member writes about need for research to reach an AIDS-free generation
November 17, 2011 -- Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC and founding member of GHTC, recently wrote an op-ed for The Hill’s “Congress Blog” in reaction to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), during which she announced that the United States will prioritize achieving an AIDS-free generation. Read more.

World Pneumonia Day marked by celebrating achievements in fight against disease
November 15, 2011 -- This weekend, health agencies marked World Pneumonia Day by celebrating the progress made toward preventing and treating the disease, the leading cause of death for children under age five. Read more.

GHTC member receives WHO prequalification for cholera vaccine
November 14, 2011 -- GHTC member the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) announced that Shanchol™, a recently developed cholera vaccine, has received World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification. Read more.

Clinton highlights need for research and science in the fight against AIDS
November 11, 2011 -- In a speech at the National Institutes for Health (NIH) on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that US efforts in areas like research have “helped set the stage for the historic opportunity the world has today−to change the course of this pandemic and usher in an AIDS-free generation.” Read more.

As report shows funding for TB research is falling, groups collaborate to accelerate new drugs
November 10, 2011 -- According to a new report from GHTC member the Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the Stop TB Partnership, funding levels for tuberculosis (TB) research and development (R&D) dropped by 0.3 percent between 2009 and 2010. Read more.

GHTC members launch new project to help fight neglected disease
November 8, 2011 -- GHTC members the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and OneWorld Health (OWH) are part of a consortium formed to investigate new treatments to fight the neglected disease visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Read more.

New initiative fosters innovation to prevent preterm births
November 8, 2011 -- The Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillborn (GAPPS) has issued a call for a grant program it is rolling out to help spur innovative new ideas to prevent preterm births. Read more.

GHTC video series highlights why Americans should care about global health innovation
November 7, 2011 -- Today, the GlobalPost’s “Global Pulse” blog posted a series of video interviews that the GHTC conducted with prominent Americans and leading US health officials about why Americans should care about global health and research. Read more.

Bill Gates pushes transaction tax to help raise money to fight global poverty, improve global health
November 7, 2011 -- This week, Bill Gates is expected to urge the Group of 20 (G20) to adopt a transaction tax on the trading of bonds and shares in order to raise nearly $50 billion a year to fight global poverty, including $11 billion for health aid projects. Read more.

Clinton to focus on HIV/AIDS, research for new tools in speech at NIH
November 3, 2011 -- This week, the State Department announced that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver a speech on ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read more.

USAID Celebrates 50th Anniversary
November 3, 2011 -- This week, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrates 50 years of leadership and expertise in addressing development challenges to improve lives across the globe. Read more.

October 2011

New partnership to support innovative research and development
October 28, 2011 -- The Chinese Government’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new partnership to focus on innovative research and support the manufacturing of new global health products. Read more.

NIH aims to accelerate drug development
October 26, 2011 -- Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today that the agency aims to eliminate bottlenecks in drug development that can slow the process of getting products to market. Read more.

Investing in high-impact, low-cost innovations that save lives
October 25, 2011 -- In a time of fiscal constraints, investing in simple, practical, and affordable health technologies is money well spent in the effort to solve global health challenges. Read more.

Intellectual property group and WHO to launch new database to accelerate research for neglected diseases
October 24, 2011 --The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced a partnership to launch a new research and development (R&D) database to share intellectual property for neglected disease licenses. Read more.

Promising results from malaria vaccine trial
October 21, 2011 --  The first results from a large-scale Phase 3 trial of the RTS,S malaria vaccine published online in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), show the vaccine candidate provides young African children with significant protection against clinical and severe malaria with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile. Read more.

What's ahead on the Hill
October 21, 2011 - -- While GHTC staff is in Kenya documenting the impact of global health research and technologies, back in Washington, DC, Congress continues to debate how to keep the government running in the midst of a rollercoaster appropriations process. Read more.

Organizations fight cuts to foreign aid
October 20, 2011 -- After $8 billion was cut from the US State Department and other international programs earlier this year, 200 nongovernmental organizations have joined together to push for an end to further funding cuts. Read more.

Research needed to overcome shortcomings in TB tools
October 17, 2011 -- There is no effective TB vaccine beyond childhood. The most common TB diagnostic tool was developed in the 1880s and fails to detect the bacterium in half of the cases. And the drugs needed to treat TB are also ancient – the most recent ones were developed more than 40 years ago. Read more.

Children in need of better diagnostics
October 12, 2011 -- Children in Kenya deserve the same access to modern and effective diagnostics and treatment that I’ve has as a diabetic in the US. Increased support for neglected disease research can provide them with that. Read more.

Tuberculosis rates on the decline
October 14, 2011 -- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), both the number of people contracting the disease and the rate of deaths across the globe are trending downward. Read more.

Q&A: US Global Health Work in Kenya with Kemy Monahan
October 12, 2011 --On Tuesday, after seeing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research site in the Kibera slum, she talked to GHTC's Breakthroughs blog on site about her impressions of the US global health work in Kenya, the importance of research, and the critical need now to make the case to Congress for investing in global health. Read more.

CDC in Kibera: Closely monitoring diseases, outbreaks in a slum
October 11, 2011 --Inside a large room at the US Embassy in Nairobi, Robert F. Breiman, M.D., the country dirctor for the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) in Kenya, explained a portion of the US-funded research in Nairobi's largest slum in Kenya. Read more.

Global Health R&D with USAID's Alex Dehgan
October 11, 2011 --Dr. Alex Dehgan talked with GHTC's Breakthroughs blog on a number of issues, including a NASA-USAID innovation for remote areas and the promise of several products in the pipeline that could save many lives. Read more.

FDA Releases Plan to Promote Biomedical Innovation
October 6, 2011 -- This week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled a new plan to spur biomedical action. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg announced that the plan—called “Driving Biomedical Innovation: Initiatives for Improving Products for Patients”—addresses the changing scientific landscape and will help alleviate concerns about the medical product development pipeline slowing down. Read more.

GHTC member reveals results from pivotal contraceptive study
October 5, 2011 -- GHTC member CONRAD, a nonprofit reproductive health research organization, recently announced the results of its SILCS Diaphragm contraceptive effectiveness study. Read more.

USAID releases five-year strategy
October 1, 2011 -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently released its five-year strategy, or Policy Framework for 2011-2015, which includes several global development priorities such as global health and innovation for new health tools. Read more.

September 2011

Senate bill cuts funding for HIV research
September 27, 2011 -- An important program in global health research would take a hit in the Senate version of the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill for fiscal year (FY) 2012). The bill would cut military HIV/AIDS research by $16 million. Read more.

Senate committees consider spending bills that impact global health programs
September 23, 2011 -- This week, Senate committees considered two appropriations bills that impact key agencies and global health programs. Both bills funded most global health accounts at lower levels than President Obama’s requests, which is likely to have implications for global health research and development (R&D). Read more.

GHTC members urge Congress to preserve international affairs budget
September 21, 2011 -- GHTC members were among the 129 organizations that placed an “Open Letter to Congress” in the September 20^th edition of Roll Call urging members of Congress to oppose further cuts to the International Affairs Budget. Read more.

Op-ed argues the world is ‘at a tipping point’ in fight against AIDS
September 19, 2011 -- An op-ed in the Huffington Post argues that we are finally within reach of eliminating HIV/AIDS across the globe, thanks in large part to advances in research and development (R&D). Read more.

‘Contagion’ shows need for global health research
September 15, 2011 -- The movie “Contagion” may be fiction, but it tells a very real story about the threat of infectious diseases and the need for global health research. Read more.

NEJM article highlights need for innovation to develop new medical devices
September 15, 2011 -- The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) recently featured a perspective piece that outlines some current obstacles to the use of medical devices in developing countries and urges the use of greater innovation to help resolve these challenges. Read more.

Berman releases proposal to reform US foreign aid that includes global health priorities
September 13, 2011 -- Last week, Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), ranking member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, released a proposal to reform and modernize US foreign assistance programs. Read more.

GHTC Director speaks with Nature Medicine about how budget cuts could hurt global health funding
September 13, 2011 -- In its September issue, Nature Medicine published an article about the implications the Budget Control Act holds for global health funding. Read more.

FDA receives funding boost in Senate bill
September 12, 2011 -- While many agencies are bracing themselves for deep cuts in this tough budget environment, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received one of the only increases in funding in the Senate’s agriculture appropriations bill. Read more.

New research offers promising developments in search for a more effective TB vaccine
September 8, 2011 -- Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide. One of the biggest obstacles in the fight against TB is that BCG, the only vaccine currently available, is only partially effective. Read more.

Growing momentum in global health
September 7, 2011 -- Although best known for its role in regulating the products that Americans use to protect their health, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has long recognized the importance of improving public health. Read more.

Military hospital plays critical role in research and development in fight against malaria
September 6, 2011 -- Walter Reed Army Medical Center has played a leading role in infectious disease research and development (R&D). The center's Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is one of the world's premier research centers for infectious diseases, especially in the fight against malaria. Read more.

HHS revises rules for financial conflicts of interest in research
September 2, 2011 -- The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has unveiled new rules to increase transparency and reduce financial conflicts of interest for federally funded researchers. Read more.

GHTC director outlines why Congress must preserve critical funding for global health research
September 2, 2011 -- The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) Director Kaitlin Christenson spoke with BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) about how the recent debt reduction legislation could hurt agencies that play a critical role in global health, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Read more.

August 2011

Cuts to global health funding in 2012 budget are “deeply” concerning, blog says
August 26, 2011 -- “I am deeply concerned about the drastic cuts to global health funding proposed by the US House of Representatives for the fiscal year 2012 budget,” Christopher J. Elias, president and CEO of PATH, writes in a Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) blog post. Read more.

Innovations needed to save mothers and children worldwide, blog says
August 26, 2011 -- “Six hundred grant proposals recently poured into the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from around the globe. Each had the potential to become the next breakthrough in maternal and infant health—the ultimate aspiration of an international partnership called Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge in Development,” USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah writes in a Huffington Post blog. Read more.

FDA releases plan for regulatory science
August 24, 2011 -- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a “Strategic Plan for Regulatory Science,” calling for a modernization of the science used in developing and evaluating health and food products. Read more.

Researchers isolate potent antibodies against HIV
August 23, 2011 -- A team of researchers with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), the Scripps Research Institute, the biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences, and Monogram Biosciences Inc. have isolated 17 novel antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad spectrum of variants of HIV. Read more.

IDRI, USAID launch new partnership to develop a malaria vaccine
August 17, 2011 -- The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) has announced a new collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), focused on support for work with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) to develop a new vaccine against malaria. Read more.

Innovative and collaborative partnerships key to drug development, blog says
August 17, 2011 -- For some neglected diseases of the developing world, the only available treatments are “toxic and painful to administer,” Bernard Pecoul, head of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, writes in a new blog post. Read more.

HIV/AIDS advocates call on federal officials to take action on new prevention tool
August 17, 2011 -- A coalition of seven HIV/AIDS organizations are calling on federal health officials to increase support for a possible new prevention method called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. Read more.

Scientists expand scope of HIV vaccine research
August 16, 2011 -- The world’s largest ongoing HIV vaccine study has been expanded to consider multiple ways a vaccine might boost immune response to the virus. Read more.

Deal reached to inspect drugs made overseas
August 16, 2011 -- The US Government and the generic drug industry have reached an agreement that will lead to routine inspections of overseas pharmaceutical plants. Read more.

After the budget showdown, where does global health stand?
August 12, 2011 -- Even in these constrained economic times, it is critical to support global health and development programs that save lives and help grow the economies of developing nations—while at the same time promote American values, economic growth, and national security. Read more.

New TB vaccine enters clinical trials in Africa
August 12, 2011 -- Aeras and the Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium (OETC) have announced the start of a proof-of-concept clinical trial of a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine that involves people living with HIV. Read more.

New fact sheets available on the CDC, Georgia and global health R&D
August 12, 2011 -- Research!America has just released new fact sheets on global health research and development (R&D) in Georgia and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Read more.

Results for Development launches blog series on global health partnerships
August 8, 2011 -- The Results for Development Institute (R4D) recently launched a new series on product-development partnerships (PDPs) on its Center for Global Health Policy Assessment blog. Read more.

Merck enters partnership to develop childhood vaccines
August 8, 2011 -- The pharmaceutical company Merck recently announced that it will partner with the Serum Institute of India to develop a children’s pneumococcal vaccine for use in emerging and developing countries. Read more.

Faster TB test under development, researchers say
August 5, 2011 -- Scientists at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in India are working on a new tool that can diagnose tuberculosis (TB) using a fast, inexpensive urine test. Read more.

The FDA plays a “proactive role in promoting innovation,” Commissioner writes
August 2, 2011 -- Despite “common criticisms” that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “impedes innovation by being slow and bureaucratic, we actually play a proactive role in promoting innovation by ushering new products through the approval process and to market—while making sure they meet the standards of safety and effectiveness that have served the American people well,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Read more.

Saving lives at birth: Innovators awarded for new technologies for women and children
August 1, 2011 -- About $14 million has been awarded to innovations aimed at saving the lives of mothers and children around the world during a landmark event hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rajiv Shah, administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Read more.

July 2011

Senator Kerry introduces bill to support the US Department of State and US diplomacy
July 28, 2011 -- Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-MA) has introduced the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for fiscal years 2012-2013. Read more.

House subcommittee releases FY2012 appropriations bill, cuts global health funding
July 27, 2011 -- The House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee recently released its fiscal year (FY) 2012 appropriations bill, which includes cuts for many programs such as global health. Read more.

Innovation is a key component of reforming foreign aid, blog says
July 27, 2011 -- Last month US Representatives Albio Sires (D-NJ) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) introduced a new bill, the 21st Century Global Health Technology Act, Aaron Emmel, a government affairs officer at PATH, writes in a Modernizing Foreign Assistance (MFAN) blog post. Read more.

Researchers call on Congress to fund research at NIH
July 27, 2011 -- A coalition of researchers and other stakeholders recently wrote to key members of Congress, urging them to continue funding scientific research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read more.

Congressman urges reform of US foreign aid
July 26, 2011 -- In a new post on the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) blog, House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Howard Berman calls on his colleagues to work together to rewrite the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Read more.

Science and innovation are crucial to achieving development goals, editorial says
July 22, 2011 -- “Throughout history, some of the greatest successes in development have come from extending the reach of scientific and technological breakthroughs to those who lacked access. We must continue to harness the ingenuity of the world’s top researchers and scientific leaders to achieve development goals,” Rajiv Shah, administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), writes in a Science editorial. Read more.

Video highlights new tools to fight malaria
July 21, 2011 -- Malaria No More United Kingdom has released a new video on new vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, insecticides, and other tools being developed to fight malaria. Read more.

Funding shortfall could hinder scientific advances in HIV/AIDS
July 21, 2011 -- Earlier this week at the sixth International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention, scientists said that increased support is needed for medical research to develop revolutionary new tools to roll back the disease. Read more.

Group launches new pediatric HIV/AIDS drug development program
July 19, 2011 -- The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) recently announced the launch of a new drug development program to address the treatment needs of children living with HIV/AIDS. Read more.

HIV/AIDS conference opens with a focus on new research
July 19, 2011 -- The sixth International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention opened in Rome earlier this week with a focus on new studies in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Read more.

Scientists closer to developing new meningitis vaccine
July 19, 2011 -- New research could bring scientists one step closer to developing a vaccine that protects against hundreds of strains of meningococcus B, the most common cause of bacterial meningitis. Read more.

USAID and National Science Foundation launch global science program
July 18, 2011 -- The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) recently launched an international joint initiative to address global development challenges. Read more.

Two studies find that oral antiretrovirals can reduce the risk of HIV
July 13, 2011 -- Results announced today from two studies show that a daily antiretroviral (ARV) pill taken by people who do not have HIV can reduce their risk of transmission by up to 73 percent. Read more.

Groups announce remarkable progress against neglected tropical diseases
July 13, 2011 -- Although many Americans have never heard of diseases such as sleeping sickness or river blindness, they are among the most common infections of the world’s poor. Read more.

Medicines Patent Pool announces HIV/AIDS drug agreement
July 12, 2011 -- The Medicines Patent Pool and pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences have announced a breakthrough license agreement that will allow the production of HIV/AIDS medicines at lower cost and in easier-to-use formulations, making them more accessible to developing countries. Read more.

Aid innovation is helping to develop new treatments and save lives
July 12, 2011 -- Although innovation “isn’t necessarily a word most people associate with aid programs,” one recent example of an innovative financing program is “helping to develop new treatments for diseases, which kill millions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America,” Charles Kenny of the New America Foundation and the Center for Global Development writes in a CNN blog post. Read more.

New partnerships are leading to a renaissance in global health research, blog post says
July 8, 2011 -- “Over the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion of discoveries in the field of global health research and development,” Jennifer Chow, director of global health R&D and public health advocacy at Research!America, writes in a Research Media blog post. Read more.

NIH director lays out vision for new center
July 8, 2011 -- In a new commentary piece in the journal Science Translational Medicine, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins provides a detailed description of the scientific goals and functions of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). Read more.

Partnership advances sleeping sickness drug candidate
July 6, 2011 -- The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), Anacor Pharmaceuticals, and SCYNEXIS Inc. have announced the successful completion of pre-clinical studies for a new oral drug candidate to combat human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness. Read more.

Report highlights Defense Department's contributions to global health
July 6, 2011 -- A new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies has found that the Department of Defense (DoD) overseas medical research laboratories fundamentally contribute to US military readiness while also helping to develop lifesaving global health products. Read more.

Global drug R&D spending fell in 2010
July 6, 2011 -- The global drug industry cut its research spending for the first time ever in 2010 following decades of increases, and the pace of decline is predicted to quicken this year. Read more.

Conference highlights private sector’s role in global health
July 1, 2011 -- Over the past 30 years, technology has revolutionized the health care available to patients in the developed world. Read more.

June 2011

WHO prequalifies typhoid vaccine
June 30, 2011 -- The pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur recently announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) has granted pre-qualification to its typhoid vaccine, making Typhim Vi the first WHO pre-qualified vaccine for typhoid. Read more.

Funding increase for malaria research leads to largest pipeline of new tools
June 29, 2011 -- A new analysis of progress in the global fight against malaria has found a four-fold increase in annual funding for malaria research and development (R&D) in just 16 years—from $121 million in 1993 to $612 million in 2009, with a particularly rapid increase since 2004. Read more.

Public-private partnerships critical to develop new HIV prevention tools, opinion piece says
June 24, 2011 -- “Promising research in HIV prevention is taking center stage, ushering in a new era in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and we have public-private partnerships to thank for many of the recent achievements,” Ward Cates, president of research at Family Health International, Director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa Salim Abdool Karim, and Myron of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill write in the Huffington Post. Read more.

CDC identifies top global public health achievements
June 24, 2011 -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified the top global public health advances during the first ten years of the 21st century, which have resulted in increased life expectancies worldwide. Read more.

Researchers develop non-invasive dengue test
June 23, 2011 -- Researchers in Singapore have developed an inexpensive and non-invasive test for dengue fever that eliminates the need to collect blood from patients. Read more.

Event highlights partnerships for innovation in global health
June 23, 2011 -- A recent event in the US House of Representatives convened a panel of experts from the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and the US government to discuss how public-private partnerships are catalyzing innovative, affordable solutions that save lives worldwide. Read more.

NIH publication features interview with Kenyan researcher
June 21, 2011 -- The latest issue of "Global Health Matters," the newsletter from the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center, includes an interview with researcher Elizabeth Bukusi of the Kenya Medical Research Institute. Read more.

The United States should “apply the power of scientific innovation to more health problems,” NIH director writes
June 17, 2011 -- Thanks “in large part to biomedical innovation, we today have better ways to treat” global health diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as well as to “lower the risk of transmission—advances that have saved millions of lives and promise to save countless more,” Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), writes in a Huffington Post opinion piece. Read more.

Donors commit historic vaccine funding levels
June 16, 2011 -- Major public and private donors have achieved a milestone in global health by committing historic levels of funding to deliver vaccines to more than 250 million of the world’s poorest children. Read more.

Future of global health examined at the World Health Assembly
June 16, 2011 -- The 64th convening of the World Health Assembly (WHA) was held at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva from May 16 to 24 and brought together leading experts in global health to establish priorities and discuss strategies among the member states and their representatives. Read more.

JAMA article highlights GHTC report on US funding for new global health tools
June 15, 2011 -- In its latest issue, JAMA reports on the Global Health Technologies Coalition’s (GHTC) recent policy report, which calls on US policymakers to accelerate scientific innovation and streamline the approval process for safe and affordable new medical products that can be used worldwide. Read more.

Video now available for GHTC event highlighting the urgent need for new vaccines
June 15, 2011 -- Video is now available from an event the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) recently hosted with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) to highlight the promise of new vaccines for global health. Read more.

Global health technologies can “make the difference between life and death,” Congressman writes in opinion piece
June 14, 2011 -- “It is indisputable that the state of the world’s health, especially for mothers and children, has improved dramatically. In the past 20 years, childhood deaths have been cut in half in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, but there is still much that can be done,” Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ) writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. Read more.

New article highlights momentum in tuberculosis vaccine development
June 13, 2011 -- A new article in the June issue of Health Affairs finds that collaboration and partnership, including with emerging economies, will be critical to the successful development and future introduction of new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in endemic countries. Read more.

Dramatic decrease in meningitis A recorded in West Africa following new vaccine introduction
June 13, 2011 -- Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have reported the lowest number of confirmed meningitis A cases ever recorded during an epidemic season this year following the introduction of a new vaccine, the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) announced recently. Read more.

Merck donates products library for research
June 13, 2011 -- Pharmaceutical company Merck plans to donate its entire library of natural products to the Institute for Hepatitis and Virus Research (IHVR) along with a grant, the institute recently announced. The library, one of the world’s largest, will be open for researchers globally. Read more.

Scientists and advocates launch vaccine research foundation
June 13, 2011 -- Fourteen leading scientists and advocates in vaccines and infectious diseases have launched a new international foundation to advance and accelerate vaccine research and development. Read more.

Health Affairs issue highlights vaccine research, development, and financing
June 10, 2011 -- The June issue of Health Affairs is devoted to global health vaccines, including new vaccines in the research pipeline, creative models for developing and paying for vaccines, and overcoming remaining challenges in vaccine science, financing, and delivery. Read more.

Researchers cite progress and momentum on HIV/AIDS
June 10, 2011 -- To mark the recent 30th anniversary of the discovery of HIV/AIDS, scientists and researchers have cited recent progress and momentum in developing new treatment and prevention tools. Read more.

New report highlights innovations in HIV diagnostic tools
June 9, 2011 -- UNITAID has released a new report that finds innovative technologies to test and monitor HIV/AIDS could soon be available in the world’s poorest regions. Read more.

Congressman Sires introduces bill to support global health R&D
June 9, 2011 -- Congressmen Albio Sires (D-NJ) recently introduced the 21st Century Global Health Technology Act, a bipartisan bill that would provide the US Agency for International Development (USAID) with authority to strengthen its decades-long support for the development of technologies for global health. Read more.

Grand Challenges program elicits more than 600 innovations to benefit pregnant women and newborns worldwide
June 6, 2011 -- A new program that will provide grants to foster innovative prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in rural, low-resource settings has elicited more than 600 proposed solutions with the potential to save lives worldwide. Read more.

Sanofi and DNDi sign agreement to develop new drugs for neglected tropical diseases
June 3, 2011 -- The pharmaceutical company Sanofi and the nonprofit group Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have announced a three-year research agreement for the research of new treatments for nine neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as needing new health tools to treat patients in endemic countries. Read more.

May 2011

Nature explores vaccines in latest issue
May 27, 2011 -- The May 26 issue of Nature addresses the development, importance, and impact of vaccines both in the United States and abroad. Read more.

Op-ed piece calls for bipartisan support for medical research
May 25, 2011 -- Kaitlin Christenson, director of the Global Health Technologies Coalition and Michael Castle, former US representative from Delaware, discuss the bipartisan nature of support for medical research in an opinion piece that runs in Roll Call today. Read more.

Clinical trial of microbicide ring enters final stage
May 23, 2011 -- This month, Project Ubuzima, with the International Partnership for Microbicides, launched a Phase III trial for a microbicide ring in Rwanda. Read more.

World AIDS Vaccine Day marked with recent breakthroughs and calls for sustained funding
May 20, 2011 -- Wednesday, May 18 marked World AIDS Vaccine day and provided a platform to discuss the importance and increasing need for an HIV vaccine. Read more.

Increased investments needed to develop new contraceptive options, study finds
May 13, 2011 -- New contraceptive methods are needed for women in developing countries whose needs for modern birth control are not being met, a new study from the Guttmacher Institute has found. Read more.

Treating HIV-positive people with antiretrovirals protects partners, study finds
May 13, 2011 -- HIV-positive men and women reduced the risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners by taking oral antiretroviral drugs when their immune systems were relatively healthy, according to findings from a study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read more.

GAVI Alliance commits $100M for new meningitis vaccine
May 13, 2011 -- The GAVI Alliance recently announced that it has committed $100 million to support the use of a meningitis vaccine developed by PATH. Read more.

NASA and USAID pledge to address global development through science and technology
May 10, 2011 -- NASA and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) recently agreed to expand their joint efforts to address international development issues such as food security, climate change, and energy and environmental management. Read more.

GHTC event highlights the US role in promoting science and innovation for global health
May 5, 2011 -- “We stand on the cusp of science and technology breakthroughs” that can “usher in a new decade of global health gains,” Alex Dehgan, the science and technology advisor at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said at a recent event hosted by the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC). Read more.

NIH maps out how it will address budget cuts
May 5, 2011 -- In response to the recent budget cut for fiscal year (FY) 2011, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced that it will reduce funding levels for research grants from its institutions and centers. Read more.

Global health research can help boost economic development, opinion piece says
May 5, 2011 -- “Science, technology and innovation (ST&I) are increasingly a focus for discussions about how to achieve economic and human development in low- and middle-income countries,” Seth Berkley, president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, writes in a SciDev.net opinion piece. Read more.

Interview series highlights the role of research and innovation in global health
May 5, 2011 -- A series of interviews with leaders in global health research is being published this week to mark the release of the Global Health Technologies Coalition’s (GHTC) second annual policy report. Read more.

Leading global health groups call on US to accelerate research
May 4, 2011 -- A coalition of 30 leading global health organizations that work on vaccines, drugs, and other tools and technologies that save lives today released a list of recommendations for US policymakers and regulators, calling for acceleration of scientific innovations and streamlining the approval of safe and affordable inventions in order to save more lives around the world. Read more.

After HIV prevention trial closes, advocates call for continued research
May 3, 2011 -- Family Health International (FHI) recently announced its decision to discontinue the FEM-PrEP study, which aimed to determine if daily antiretroviral drugs could safely and effectively prevent HIV infection in women in Africa through a method called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Read more.

April 2011

NIH creates collection of approved drugs to identify new therapies for neglected diseases
April 29, 2011 -- Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have assembled a collection of thousands of approved drugs for clinical use against rare and neglected diseases. Read more.

New tools needed in fight against malaria, opinion piece says
April 27, 2011 -- There have been major successes in malaria prevention and control in recent years with tools such as bed nets, indoor residual spraying, more effective medicines, and preventive treatment during pregnancy, Global Health Council President and CEO Jeffrey Sturchio and Medicines for Malaria Venture CEO David Reddy write in a Huffington Post opinion piece. Read more.

Funding global health innovation
April 26, 2011 -- President Obama recently signed into law a bill that funds the US federal government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2011, following a last-minute negotiation reached in Congress just in time to prevent a possible government shutdown.  Read more.

GHTC Congressional briefing will highlight role of innovation in creating health products for the developing world.
April 21, 2011 -- On May 3, 2011, the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) will host its second annual Congressional briefing to highlight the need for and role of new health products for diseases affecting people around the world. Read more.

Video now available from GHTC event on new tools in the fight against malaria
April 21, 2011 -- New video is now available from an event that examined new tools in the pipeline to fight malaria worldwide. Read more.

US program aims to transform medical research and education in Africa
April 21, 2011 -- Earlier this month, US and African global health leaders hosted the inaugural meeting of a program that aims to transform and increase medical education in Africa. Called the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the program assists institutions in sub-Saharan African countries that receive support from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and its partners to develop and enhance models of medical education. Read more.

Institute for OneWorld Health announces milestone in malaria drug development
April 19, 2011 -- The Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH), a member of the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), announced that its development of an alternative source of artemisinin using synthetic biology has successfully entered the production and distribution phase. Read more.

FDA approves first diagnostic for dengue fever
April 19, 2011 -- The first test to help diagnose people with symptoms of dengue fever has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Read more.

Event examines vaccine financing mechanisms
April 12, 2011 -- The Center for Global Development (CGD) recently hosted an event to examine the design and implementation of vaccine financing mechanisms, including the first Advance Market Commitment (AMC), the International Financing Facility for Immunization (IFFIm), and the GAVI Alliance. Read more.

Global health officials call for increased research and policies to address growing drug resistance worldwide
April 8, 2011 -- On this year’s World Health Day, global health officials warned that the growing spread of antibiotic resistance worldwide has threatened the fight against diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and hospital-acquired infections. Read more.

USAID head highlights health research and innovation in annual letter
April 5, 2011 -- In his 2011 annual message, US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah describes the agency’s recent work to address global poverty, hunger, and illness through programs such as the Global Health Initiative. Read more.

New TB diagnostic making strides in Africa
April 1, 2011 -- Global Health Frontline News recently reported on the positive impact of new diagnostic tools for tuberculosis (TB) with a video on CNN. Read more.

March 2011

WHO releases first list of priority medicines for maternal and child health
March 30, 2011 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first-ever list of 30 priority medicines for improving maternal and child health worldwide. Read more.

Center for Global Health R&D Policy Assessment releases new report on prizes
March 29, 2011 -- The Center for Global Health Policy Assessment at the Results for Development Institute (R4D) has released a new report, called "Prizes for Global Health Technologies." Read more.

Bill introduced in Senate to amend FDA’s priority review voucher program
March 29, 2011 -- Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) recently introduced the Creating Hope Act of 2011 to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Read more.

US policymakers highlight innovation on World TB Day
March 25, 2011 -- World Tuberculosis (TB) Day was observed this week and provided a platform for experts to highlight the increasing need for new innovations and tools to fight the deadly disease. Read more.

Saving lives at birth: USAID launches Grand Challenges for Development
March 23, 2011 -- "To make advances in maternal and newborn health, our real opportunity lies in harnessing the power of innovation—scientific, technological, and behavioral—to build a continuum of invention from bench to bush. Innovations in products and the platforms we use to deliver them will allow us to expand our reach to women who will likely never set foot inside a hospital."US Agency for International Development Administrator (USAID) Rajiv Shah made these comments at the March 9 launch of a new program called Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development. Read more.

HIV/AIDS vaccine research contributing to development in Kenya, blog post says
March 22, 2011 -- “I was very glad last month to hear Administrator Rajiv Shah describe” the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) “deep commitment to sustainable development and building country-led health systems. These principles characterize USAID’s impact in Kenya, where USAID has supported the Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative (KAVI) through our partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI),” Omu Anzala, KAVI program director at the University of Nairobi, writes in a new USAID “Impact” blog post. Read more.

State Department leads discussion of global health innovation
March 22, 2011 -- The US Department of State recently hosted a symposium with stakeholders from the public and private sectors on the role of innovation in addressing global health. Read more.

NIH leaders discuss new opportunities for global health research in Africa
March 15, 2011 -- As part of an interview series on “Science Speaks,” two leaders at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spoke about a program called the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), which aims to support medical and research education in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more.

New resource demonstrates the benefits of global health research
March 15, 2011 -- A new fact sheet from the Global Health Technologies Coalition examines how US leadership in innovation, science, and research for new global health tools helps to save lives around the world. Read more.

Experts examine gaps in global health research
March 10, 2011 -- In two new articles, global health experts examine gaps in research capacity in endemic countries and global research partnerships. In a Global Health Magazine article, Robert Eiss and Roger Glass of the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center discuss how gaps in health systems and a lack of trained personnel in endemic countries can hinder research efforts, as well as how to fill gaps in knowledge about delivering new interventions in impoverished settings. Read more.

Interview series examines HIV/AIDS and TB research issues
March 9, 2011 -- A new interview series launched on International Women’s Day and examines issues surrounding research and development for HIV and tuberculosis (TB). Read more.

GHTC director and USAID advisor stress importance of science and technology in international development
March 9, 2011 -- “Now is the time to support science and technology—especially in difficult economic times. It is the right thing to do, and it makes good economic sense. In state after state, we see that public research funding is boosting the economy and spurring private investment,” Alex Dehgan, science and technology advisor to the administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Kaitlin Christenson, coalition director for the Global Health Technologies Coalition, write in an opinion piece in The Hill. Read more.

Science and technology should be leveraged to improve women’s health worldwide, opinion piece says
March 8, 2011 -- “Today, women's health is very much a global issue. There are over 3.4 billion women worldwide and in most regions of the world, women outnumber men. Yet, a number of factors including poverty, discrimination, and violence undermine women's health,” former US Assistant Surgeon General Susan Blumenthal writes in a Huffington Post opinion piece to mark International Women’s Day. Read more.

Increased private-sector engagement needed to develop new global health products, blog says
March 8, 2011 -- “It’s generally accepted that new incentives are needed to spur innovation in neglected tropical disease (NTD) research and development (R&D),” Andrew Robertson, chief policy officer at BIO Ventures for Global Health and a member of the Global Health Technologies Coalition steering committee, writes in a blog post. Read more.

Presidential commission announces panel to examine current protections for global clinical trials
March 4, 2011 -- The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues earlier this week announced an international panel that will examine whether current rules adequately protect volunteers in global clinical trials. Read more.

USAID head highlights science in international development
March 2, 2011 -- In the first-ever speech at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by a sitting administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Rajiv Shah charted a course forward for the United States' international development programs, including the Global Health Initiative (GHI). Read more.

The Institute for OneWorld Health announces milestone in cholera drug development
March 2, 2011 -- The Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH) recently announced a major milestone in the development of a drug to treat cholera and other infectious diarrheal diseases. Read more.

Obama Administration releases new details on the Global Health Initiative
March 2, 2011 -- The Obama Administration has released an updated version of its strategy document for the Global Health Initiative (GHI). The document includes updated and expanded descriptions of how the GHI will harness research and innovation to improve health worldwide. Read more.

FDA head calls for bolstered regulatory efforts to ensure drug safety worldwide
March 1, 2011 -- “Ensuring the safety and quality of food and medical products has never been more complicated. Societies around the world face increasingly complex challenges that require harnessing the best available science and technology on behalf of patients and consumers,” US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg writes in a Science editorial. Read more.

February 2011

Single-dose malaria drug enters Phase II trials
February 28, 2011 -- A single-dose malaria drug candidate has progressed to Phase II clinical trials in malaria patients, after Phase I trials found the drug candidate to be safe and effective. Read more.

Researchers cite major progress in dengue vaccine development
February 24, 2011 -- Scientists in Thailand recently announced the development of a prototype vaccine against dengue fever and will conduct tests with the goal of bringing it to market within ten years. Read more.

GHTC director responds to speech by USAID head
February 16, 2011 -- Kaitlin Christenson, coalition director for the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), responds to a recent speech by Rajiv Shah—administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID)—in a new piece on the Modernizing Foreign Assistance (MFAN) blog. Read more.

Investments in global health research have created tens of thousands of jobs in New Jersey, new data finds
February 16, 2011 -- Public and private investments in global health research and development (R&D) have produced tens of thousands of jobs in medicine, research, public health, and education in New Jersey, according to new data from Research!America (R!A). Read more.

New report documents global investment in research for neglected diseases
February 16, 2011 -- Global funding for research and development (R&D) for neglected disease increased to $3.2 billion in 2009, an increase of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars compared with 2008, according to the third annual G-FINDER report released by the George Institute and Policy Cures. Read more.

President Obama releases budget proposal
February 16, 2011 -- President Obama on Monday released his fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget proposal, which aims to reduce spending in certain areas while increasing resources in areas like research that have the potential for long-term payoffs in economic growth. Read more.

USAID outlines impacts of possible global health funding cuts on TB programs
February 15, 2011 -- During a recent presentation to tuberculosis (TB) advocates and implementers, representatives from the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Global Health outlined the impact to its TB programs if funded at the fiscal year (FY) 2010 levels, or if reduced to FY 2008 levels. Read more.

Kenya launches new vaccine purchased through innovative financing mechanism
February 15, 2011 -- On Monday, Kenya began immunizing children with a new vaccine to protect against pneumonia—the world's leading killer of children younger than age five. Read more.

New report demonstrates USAID’s leadership in global health research
February 15, 2011 -- The US Agency for International Development (USAID) recently released a report to Congress describing its ongoing commitment to global health science, research, and innovation. Read more.

Pharmaceutical company head discusses drug development for global health diseases
February 11, 2011 -- In a recent interview with Forbes, Paul Herring—head of corporate research at Novartis and chair of the company’s Institute for Tropical Diseases—discusses research and development for drugs to treat global health diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria, and dengue fever. Read more.

Public sector makes significant contributions to health research, study finds
February 10, 2011 -- A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the public sector—including US Government agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofit groups—has a more immediate effect on improving public health than previously realized. Read more.

Medical researcher wins prize for meeting health research challenge
February 8, 2011 -- A neurologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has won a $1 million prize for developing a way to quantify the small muscular changes that signal progressive deterioration related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Read more.

New TB test might be used to measure HIV viral load
February 8, 2011 -- The diagnostics company Cepheid and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) recently announced a new collaboration to speed the development of a rapid HIV viral load test. Read more.

New meningitis vaccine has reached nearly 20 million people, blog says
February 3, 2011 -- “A few months ago, our friends at PATH set out on a mission to immunize 20 million people in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger with an affordable new meningitis vaccine, MenAfriVac™. Well, we just got word that they pretty much reached that number—they’ve administered the vaccine to nearly 19.5 million people,” Malaka Gharib writes in a ONE blog post. Read more.

Advance Market Commitment has demonstrated that ‘innovative approaches to health financing” can work, editorial says
February 2, 2011 -- The first Advance Market Commitment (AMC)—which aims to stimulate the development and delivery of vaccines to prevent pneumococcal disease—has “shown that innovative approaches to health financing can benefit both global health and pharmaceutical companies,” a Lancet Infectious Diseases editorial says. Read more.

Bill Gates emphasizes polio eradication and vaccines in annual letter
February 1, 2011 -- In his third annual letter, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, called for a global effort to eradicate polio. Read more.

Breakthroughs in global health science flourish in 2010
February 1, 2011 -- Last year was marked by monumental progress in science and research for global health. Dramatic progress was announced in the development of new vaccines, microbicides, diagnostic tools, drugs, and other products for a range of global health diseases—from HIV, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and neglected tropical diseases. Read more.

January 2011

WHO Director-General calls for sustained resources for global health
January 30, 2011 -- Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), recently said that investments in global health must be sustained in order to build on successes from the past year, including achievements in research and science. Read more.

Global health research reaps benefits in the United States, blog says
January 28, 2011 -- Global health research and development (R&D) is “ultimately going to make people's lives better, whenever researchers find new ways to curb diseases that respect no national borders. But it's also smart economics,” John Edward Porter, former member of Congress and chair of Research!America, and Storer Rowley, executive director of government and community relations at Elmhurst College, write in a Huffington Post blog piece. Read more.

President Obama highlights science and innovation in State of the Union address
January 27, 2011 -- In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama recognized the power of innovation and science to transform the American economy. Read more.

New NIH therapeutics center to launch by October 2011
January 26, 2011 -- Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently sent a letter to Congress outlining plans to open a new center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by October 2011. Read more.

USAID Administrator Shah outlines agency’s plans to modernize foreign aid, harness science and innovation
January 20, 2011 -- Rajiv Shah, administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), recently gave a speech at the Center for Global Development in which he outlined how the agency will modernize and reform its approach to international development. Read more.

Vaccines are ‘among the greatest scientific contributions to human welfare,’ opinion piece says
January 19, 2011 -- “Vaccines are among the greatest scientific contributions to human welfare” Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson writes in a recent opinion piece, adding, “They are also some of the largest humanitarian contributions of developed nations to the rest of the world.” Read more.

Reducing global poverty ‘must go hand in hand with science,’ letter to the editor says
January 19, 2011 -- Poverty is “perhaps the most important and cross-cutting risk factor” for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), Peter Hotez, president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), and ASTMH executive director Karen A. Goraleski, write in a Washington Post letter to the editor. Read more.

Experimental malaria vaccine shows sustained efficacy
January 18, 2011 -- The Lancet has published the results of the mid-stage trials of the experimental GlaxoSmithKline and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative sponsored malaria vaccine, RTS,S or Mosquirix, that showed long-lasting protection against infection in young children. Read more.

WHO and partners launch new global plan to protect malaria treatment against resistance
January 13, 2011 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new five step Global Plan for Artemisinin Resistance Containment which will seek to control the spread of artemisinin-resistant malaria. Read more.

Group of public health research funders calls for widespread sharing of data
January 11, 2011 -- Public health research data should be shared more widely in the scientific community in order to make progress in public health worldwide, a group of 17 health-funding agencies and groups said recently in a joint statement. Read more.

Incentives to spur global health research and delivery are working, blog says
January 7, 2011 -- This week, the pneumococcal vaccine was introduced in Nicaragua—the “first vaccine delivered as a direct result of a novel market-based incentive for global health: the Advance Market Commitment (AMC),” J. Leighton Read of Alloy Ventures who also served on the board of BIO Ventures for Global Health, writes in a blog post. Read more.

New evidence shows that global health research is a wise investment for the US
January 6, 2011 -- Investing in global health research is a wise choice for the US government that can reap benefits both at home and abroad. Read more.

Increasing number of nonprofit, for-profit pharmaceutical companies partnering to advance global health drug development
January 5, 2011 -- An increasing number of nonprofit pharmaceutical companies are working with for-profit companies to develop drugs for diseases of the developing world. Read more.

Find GHTC members on social media
January 3, 2011 -- Connect with the more than 35 members of the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) on social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Read more.

Breakthroughs in research included in top health and science accomplishments of 2010
January 3, 2011 -- Several global health research breakthroughs were included in lists ranking health and science advances of 2010. Read more.

December 2010

New report finds increasing commitment to research from developing countries
December 22, 2010 -- Many low- and middle-income countries are demonstrating a growing commitment to science, innovation, and research and development (R&D), according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Read more.

State Department recognizes power of innovation and technology to transform lives in new development policy
December 16, 2010 -- The State Department has released the final report of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), a process undertaken by the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to recommend updated approaches to international diplomacy and development. Read more.

USAID releases report on health-related research and development activities
December 15, 2010 -- The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has released a new report to Congress, detailing the agency’s global health research and development work over the past year. Read more.

United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution on global health and foreign policy
December 14, 2010 -- The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution to promote links between foreign policy and global health. Read more.

Investments in global health research “benefit lives” worldwide and can “be felt locally in the US,” according to blog post
December 14, 2010 -- “As the holidays are approaching,” it is important to remember that “supporting global health research and development is the ultimate gift,” according to a ONE Campaign blog. Read more.

US support key to recent breakthroughs in global health science, GHTC director writes
December 14, 2010 -- “It’s been a monumental year for scientific achievements in global health. Trials of new HIV prevention technologies—a vaginal gel and a pill for prevention—have shown promising results. Read more.

NIH board recommends new center to advance the development of health tools for neglected and rare diseases
December 10, 2010 -- Earlier this week, the Scientific Management Review Board at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommended that the agency create a new center devoted to advancing new medical therapeutics. Read more.

New meningitis vaccine launched in Africa
December 9, 2010 -- A new meningitis vaccine, developed by PATH and the World Health Organization (WHO) through a partnership known as the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP), was distributed for the first time on December 6 in Burkina Faso. Read more.

WHO endorses new rapid test for TB and drug resistance
December 8, 2010 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that it has endorsed a new test for tuberculosis (TB) and rifampicin drug resistance. Read more.

World AIDS Day marked by breakthroughs in science
December 8, 2010 -- The run-up to this year's World AIDS Day on December 1 has been studded with monumental achievements in HIV/AIDS prevention research. Read more.

The new Congress and global health innovation
December 1, 2010 -- On the heels of the recent elections and a leadership shift in the House of Representatives, it is important to note that research for global health diseases has always garnered bipartisan support. Read more.

November 2010

Increased support from policymakers, scientists, and the public needed to advance HIV prevention research, opinion piece says
November 30, 2010 -- A “series of promising new scientific results in prevention, including three breakthrough trials in just 16 months, offer the first glimmer of hope that we may finally be able to achieve the ‘three zeros’—zero new infections, zero stigma/discrimination, and zero AIDS deaths—Jeffrey Sturchio, president and CEO of the Global Health Council, Ward Cates, president of research at Family Health International (FHI), and Salim Abdool Karim, director of Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), write in a Huffington Post opinion piece. Read more.

GHTC director highlights role of US Government in recent HIV prevention study
November 29, 2010 -- In a new interview on the “Science Speaks” blog, Kaitlin Christenson, coalition director for the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), highlights the role of the US Government in a new study that found daily antiretroviral drugs provide protection against HIV infection through a prevention method known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. Read more.

Daily antiretroviral pills protect against HIV infection, study finds
November 29, 2010 -- A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that daily antiretroviral drugs provide protection against HIV infection through a prevention method known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. Read more.

Science and research are crucial to improving health worldwide, former assistant surgeon general writes in opinion piece
November 29, 2010 -- “Research is medicine's field of dreams from which we harvest new findings about the causes, treatment, and prevention of disease,” Susan Blumenthal, director of the Health and Medicine Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and former assistant surgeon general, writes in a Huffington Post opinion piece. Read more.

State Department releases new international development policy with a focus on science and innovation
November 18, 2010 -- The State Department has released a draft of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), a process undertaken by the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to recommend updated approaches to international diplomacy and development. Read more.

First vaccine trials for widespread malaria strain underway
November 17, 2010 -- The Walter Reed Army Institute for Research (WRAIR) recently launched the first clinical trials for a vaccine against the most widespread strain of malaria, Plasmodium vivax. Read more.

New report shows increase in research projects for diseases of the developing world
November 15, 2010 -- The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) has released a new report that found drugmakers are working on more than 100 research and development (R&D) projects for diseases of the developing world. Read more.

New report finds that solutions such as vaccines are key to preventing pneumonia
November 12, 2010 -- To mark World Pneumonia Day, the Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia released a new report that finds tools and solutions, such as vaccines, are critical components in protecting children from the disease. Read more.

Driving innovation for global health
November 12, 2010 -- In the current global economic crisis, how can the United States support and foster research for essential new global health tools? How can the country ensure that its investments in research for new health products—such as vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics—are cost efficient and a wise use of limited resources? Read more.

TB Alliance launches trial of new drug regimen
November 10, 2010 -- The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) recently announced the launch of a Phase I clinical trial to test a novel tuberculosis (TB) regimen that aims to speed new treatments to patients. Read more.

President Obama announces partnership with Indonesia that will focus on science and health
November 10, 2010 -- During a recent visit to Indonesia as part of a ten-day Asia-Pacific tour, President Barack Obama and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a partnership between the two nations that will focus on several key issues, including science, technology, and health. Read more.

Groups launch preventive AIDS vaccine trial
November 9, 2010 -- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) recently announced the launch of a Phase I trial of two preventive AIDS vaccine candidates. Read more.

African leader calls on countries worldwide to strengthen drug regulatory and administration measures
November 5, 2010 -- During the opening of the tenth annual meeting of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) in Ghana, the country’s Vice President John Dramani Mahama called on ISoP member countries to strengthen their pharmaceutical regulatory systems in an effort to curb the spread of counterfeit medicines. Read more.

Experimental dengue vaccine enters Phase III trials
November 5, 2010 -- Pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Pasteur has announced that its experimental dengue vaccine has entered Phase III clinical trials in Australia. Read more.

GHTC releases a new fact sheet on incentives and innovative financing for global health research
November 4, 2010 -- The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) has authored a new fact sheet on incentives and innovative financing mechanisms for global health product development. Read more.

Indian and Canadian researchers collaborate to develop new malaria drugs
November 3, 2010 -- Researchers from India and Canada have joined together to form an international malaria research consortium aimed at developing new classes of drugs against the disease. Read more.

Biotechnology investors and executives discuss research incentives and financing
November 3, 2010 -- Biotechnology executives and investors gathered last week at the annual Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference, hosted by the Virginia Biotechnology Association, the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, and the Tech Council of Maryland. Read more

October 2010

Lancet series examines malaria control and eradication
October 29, 2010 -- A new series in the Lancet examines issues surrounding the control and elimination of malaria, including research for new health tools such as vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and insecticides. Read more.

White House advisor and WHO official discuss need for new TB tools
October 29, 2010 -- In a new blog post on the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog, Ezekiel Emanuel—special advisor for health policy at the White House Office of Management and Budget—discusses the challenges of addressing tuberculosis (TB) in Ethiopia after touring a hospital in Addis Ababa, the capitol. Read more.

FDA meets with stakeholders to discuss next steps for experimental microbicide gel
October 27, 2010 -- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently met with CONRAD and other stakeholders to discuss the next steps required for US licensure of 1% tenofovir gel, an experimental microbicide recently found to be effective at reducing the rate of HIV and herpes infection in women. Read more.

Secretary Clinton offers preview of development strategy
October 26, 2010 -- In an essay in Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offers a preview of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), a process undertaken by the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to recommend updated approaches to international diplomacy and development. Read more.

GHTC member examines prizes for global health product development, calls for suite of incentives
October 26, 2010 -- In a new blog post, Kaitlin Christenson, manager of the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), discusses a recent event in which the Results for Development Institute (R4D) presented some of its initial analysis of prizes designed to drive development of TB diagnostics for global health product development. Read more.

New details on US global development, health initiatives unveiled
October 24, 2010 -- The Obama Administration recently unveiled details about its new international development strategy, called the Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) on global development. Read more.

British government pledges to protect science and research from funding cuts
October 22, 2010 -- In the midst of public spending cuts, the British government recently announced that it would protect funding for science and research by freezing the budget at the country’s Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS). Read more.

Leaders call on endemic countries to increase investments in science
October 21, 2010 -- During the Third World Academy of Sciences meeting in India, leaders called for endemic countries to place a greater emphasis on scientific research and application. Read more.

India and South Africa to launch joint vaccine research project
October 20, 2010 -- India and South Africa are expected to launch a joint HIV vaccine research project by the end of 2010, with a focus on basic science and HIV strains common in both countries. Read more.

WHO report on neglected tropical diseases calls for increased research to develop new drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, and other health products
October 15, 2010 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), in which the agency said it aims to achieve “complete control and even elimination” of the diseases that affect one billion people each year. Read more.

GHTC calls for elevation of science and research in international development
October 14, 2010 -- In a new entry on the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) blog, Kaitlin Christenson, manager of the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), calls for science, research, and innovation to be promoted and elevated in US international development efforts, including the Global Health Initiative (GHI). Read more.

Prominent new study on HIV/AIDS financing calls for investments in research for new tools
October 13, 2010 -- A prominent new study published by the Results for Development Institute in the Lancet examines HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment financing through 2031. Read more.

New developments in TB vaccine research and diagnostic capacity
October 12, 2010 -- Researchers, nonprofit groups, US federal agencies, and other partners have recently announced exciting advancements in tuberculosis (TB) vaccine research and diagnostic capacity. Read more.

UN, WHO launch African-led health research network
October 11, 2010 -- The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched an African-led initiative to promote innovation and research for the development of pharmaceuticals and other health products for the continent. Read more.

US leaders prioritize research and innovation
October 7, 2010 -- Major gains were made in the United States’ effort to harness the lifesaving potential of science, technology, and innovation to tackle global health issues and achieve major development goals in two distinct settings. Read more.

Public hearing highlights FDA's role in global health
October 5, 2010 -- On September 23, the FDA hosted a pivotal public hearing to examine its role in regulating and reviewing global health technologies, such as vaccines, drugs, microbicides, diagnostics, and other tools that save lives worldwide. Read more.

FDA awards nearly $3 million in TB research grants
October 5, 2010 -- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it will grant $2.9 million to support six research projects aimed at developing new tools to diagnose, treat, and prevent tuberculosis (TB). Read more.

NIH joins innovative HIV/AIDS drug patent pool
October 4, 2010 -- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that it will share intellectual property rights on some HIV/AIDS medicines through a patent pool that aims to make treatments more widely available to people in low-income countries. Read more.

September 2010

Safe and effective malaria vaccine closer than ever, PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative announces at conference
September 30, 2010 -- Researchers are closer than ever before to successfully developing the first safe and effective malaria vaccine, representatives from the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and other scientists said this week at the Malaria Vaccines for the World Conference in Washington, DC. Read more.

Aeras announces two new clinical trials for tuberculosis vaccine candidates
September 24, 2010 -- This week, the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation announced two exciting new clinical trials of tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidates. Read more.

Innovation to reach the MDGs
September 24, 2010 -- This week, nearly 200 world leaders will meet in New York to attend a high-level United Nations summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), aimed at reducing disease, poverty, and hunger by 2015. Read more.

Leaders highlight innovation and science as key principles to achieve the MDGs
September 23, 2010 -- During this week’s United Nations summit on the Millennium Development Goals, several world leaders highlighted how innovation, science, and technology can help make progress toward achieving the global targets. Read more.

Coalition of leading international health groups releases recommendations to elevate FDA's role in global health
September 23, 2010 -- The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), a group of more than 30 leading international health organizations, today released recommendations to elevate the role of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in global health. Read more.

Ensuring safe and effective health tools reach people in need
September 21, 2010 -- As the Obama Administration and other US leaders continue to prioritize global health issues, the FDA can play an increasingly important role in efforts to ensure the safety of health tools to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases that affect millions of people worldwide every year. Read more.

GHTC releases new fact sheet on FDA's role in global health
September 20, 2010 -- The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) has authored a new fact sheet on the FDA's role in global health . Read more.

GHTC releases new fact sheet on research and the millennium development goals
September 17, 2010 -- This fact sheet from the Global Health Technologies Coalition examines how research for new global health tools can help achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Read more.

BARDA awards four contracts for global health research
September 15, 2010 -- The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently awarded grants for global health research and development. Read more.

Gates Foundation driving research into malaria eradication
September 14, 2010 -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is revamping its scientific agenda for malaria with the aim of eradicating the disease. Read more.

Johnson & Johnson health program to help women and children worldwide includes research for new HIV and TB treatments
September 14, 2010 -- The pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has launched a five-year health program—called Every Woman, Every Child—that aims to support the Millennium Development Goals target of reducing mortality in women and children by 2015. Read more.

Group releases HIV vaccine strategic plan
September 13, 2010 -- The Council of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise has released a strategic plan to accelerate research and development for an HIV vaccine. Read more.

New test provides accurate and fast detection of TB and drug resistance, study finds
September 3, 2010 -- A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that a new molecular tuberculosis (TB) test provides highly sensitive detection of the disease and drug resistance in low-resource settings more easily and quickly than current, widely used diagnostics. Read more.

New partners join treatment pool for neglected tropical diseases
September 1, 2010 -- Several new partners have joined the Pool for Open Innovation Against Neglected Tropical Diseases in recent months. Read more.

August 2010

New, low-cost meningitis vaccine approved by WHO
August 31, 2010 -- A new meningitis vaccine, MenAfriVac, will soon be distributed for the first time in a mass campaign in Burkina Faso. Read more.

Police seize counterfeit medicines in Africa
August 27, 2010 -- Authorities have seized ten tons of counterfeit medicines in six east African countries and arrested suspects involved in the manufacturing, trafficking and selling of fake medical products. Read more.

WHO prequalifies pneumococcal vaccine
August 24, 2010 -- The World Health Organization has prequalified Pfizer’s pneumococcal vaccine, Prevenar 13, allowing for the procurement of the vaccine by United Nations agencies, governments, and other organizations for use in national immunization programs. Read more.

Connect with the GHTC for the latest in global health research, innovation
August 23, 2010 -- The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) has joined Facebook and Twitter, providing the latest updates about research and innovation for new global health tools. Read more.

Cancer in developing countries can be addressed with vaccines, drugs, experts say
August 20, 2010 -- A panel of experts recently stated that cancer is taking an increasing toll on people in low-income countries and called for a new focus on fighting the disease. Read more.

Fostering research in the GHI
August 18, 2010 -- For the first time, the Obama administration has detailed how the Global Health Initiative (GHI) will foster innovation to improve health worldwide. Read more.

Innovation will play a key role in international development programs, USAID head says
August 18, 2010 -- Science and technology will play crucial roles in several international development programs by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the agency’s administrator Rajiv Shah said at a recent event in Seattle. Read more.

Global Health Initiative will foster innovation for new tools, Secretary Clinton says
August 17, 2010 -- President Obama’s Global Health Initiative (GHI)—a six year, $63 billion commitment to global health—will invest in innovation and research for new health tools, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a recent event at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Read more.

World has “entered a highly promising era in HIV-prevention research,” new approaches needed to build on recent successes
August 12, 2010 -- Recent successes in HIV research “provide clear evidence we have entered a highly promising era in HIV-prevention research,” Alan Bernstein, executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, and Peter Piot—chair of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise and director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)—write in a Globe and Mail opinion piece. Read more.

New studies on rotavirus vaccines show significant protection against deadly childhood diarrhea
August 10, 2010 -- Two new studies in Africa and Asia recently published in the Lancet show that rotavirus vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe rotavirus gastroenteritis, which is responsible for more than half a million child deaths worldwide. Read more.

Video from foreign assistance reform event available online
August 10, 2010 -- The Global Health Technologies Coalition recently posted videos from a congressional briefing co-hosted with the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. Read the GHTC annoucement.

Senator Brownback introduces bill to expand FDA’s Priority Review Voucher program
August 10, 2010 -- Senator Sam Brownback has introduced a bill that would expand the US Food and Drug Administration’s Priority Review Voucher (PRV) program to include rare and neglected pediatric diseases in the United States. Read more.

Recently prequalified meningitis vaccine distribution scheduled for October
A new meningitis vaccine, recently prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO), will be distributed for the first time in October through a mass campaign in Burkina Faso. Read more.

'Now is the time' to 'deploy science, technology, and innovation in the service of humanity,' US leaders write
"We are on the cusp of a new era in global development," Rajiv Shah, administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, write in a Huffington Post blog post. Read more.

More than 200 organizations sign open letter to President Obama on reforming foreign aid
More than 200 organizations, including some members of the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), have signed an open letter to President Obama on foreign aid. Read more.

Senate committee approves state, foreign operations appropriations bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee, on Friday, approved the fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget bill for state and foreign operations. Read more.

Obama administration releases strategy to meet Millennium Development Goals
The Obama Administration recently released its strategy to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, eight commitments to reduce poverty and disease worldwide by 2015. Read more.

July 2010

Innovation to catalyze development: Leveraging research in US foreign assistance
July 30, 2010 -- "Even the way we change is changing," Thomas Kalil, deputy director for policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), told attendees at the July 28 congressional briefing hosted by the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) and the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN). Read more.

New hope for women in the fight against AIDS
July 26, 2010 -- A study released this week at the XVIII International AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria, has lifted hopes for research and development for a female-controlled HIV prevention tool. Read more.

NIH drug pipeline for rare, neglected diseases launches five pilot projects
The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program, established last year with $24 million in funding, is a drug development pipeline that aims to produce new treatments for rare and neglected diseases. Read more.

Science ‘indispensible’ to US development goals worldwide, USAID head says
US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah recently authored a blog post in which he writes that President Obama has supported “science, technology, and innovation as an indispensible component of US development policy as we seek to support developing communities worldwide.”
Read more.

Obama Administration highlights commitment to fight against HIV/AIDS
Following the recent XVIII International AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria, members of the Obama Administration stressed the president’s commitment to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic through programs such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Health Initiative. Read more.

Trial of microbicide gel shows promise for HIV prevention among women
Results from an advanced clinical trial announced at the XVIII International AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria, showed a significant reduction in the risk of HIV infection among women who used an experimental microbicide gel that contained the antiretroviral drug tenofovir. Read more.

Conference examines how science and technology can revitalize USAID
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) last week hosted a two-day conference to examine how science and technology can revitalize the agency and solve major challenges in international development. Read more.

Priority review vouchers for neglected diseases need support, blog says
The US Food and Drug Administration’s priority review voucher (PRV) program is “moving forward very quickly, but long product development timelines dictate that it will take time to blossom,” a BIO Ventures for Global Health blog says. Read more.

NIH head calls for $500M for neglected disease research; Agency funds malaria research centers
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has called on Congress to set aside $500 million for a program that would give biotechnology companies funding for clinical trials focused on neglected diseases. Read more.

Antibodies effective against 90 percent of HIV strains
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a pair of naturally occurring antibodies that can kill more than 90 percent of all HIV strains. Read more.

New collaboration will investigate TB drugs as possible treatments for neglected tropical diseases
The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have announced a new license agreement that aims to speed development of treatments for several neglected diseases. Read more.

Coalition releases recommendations to improve US foreign aid
Global Washington—a coalition of 120 groups working in international development based in Seattle, Washington—has released a set of recommendations to improve the efficacy US foreign aid. Read more.

House subcommittee approves fiscal year 2011 spending bill with $8.25B for global health
The House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee has approved a draft spending bill for fiscal year 2011, which would provide funding lower than President Obama’s request but higher than FY2010. Read more.

USAID head examines maternal health interventions, country ownership
During a June 29 event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah highlighted how health tools and robust health systems can help prevent maternal deaths worldwide. Read more.

June 2010

Congress highlights new tools for global health
June 24, 2010 -- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays a crucial role in facilitating the introduction of health tools to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases that affect millions of people worldwide every year. Read more.

Obama Administration harnesses innovation to forge diplomatic ties
June 23, 2010 -- Administration officials recently marked the one-year anniversary of the president's Cairo speech, stressing the importance of science and research in forging partnerships with communities around the world. Read the GHTC announcement.

FDA review group to focus on drugs for neglected tropical diseases
A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review group for rare diseases held its first public meeting this week, examining how to make it easier and less expensive to develop products for diseases that affect less than 200,000 people in the United States. Read more.

Report highlights crucial role of PDPs in global health research
A new study in the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine’s journal International Health examines the role of product development partnerships in research and development (R&D) for neglected diseases worldwide. Read more.

President Obama, world leaders highlight global health, innovation
Leaders from the Group of Eight nations, in partnership with other countries and organizations, at their recent summit pledged $7.3 billion for maternal and child health efforts worldwide. Read more.

US, Russian presidents pledge cooperation in research, innovation
During Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev’s recent visit to the United States, US President Obama and Medvedev recognized the crucial role of research and innovation in advancing economic growth and bilateral cooperation. Read more.

NIH, partners launch research project in Africa
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Wellcome Trust, and the African Society for Human Genetics recently launched the Human Heredity and Health in Africa Project. Read more.

Index ranks pharmaceutical companies on drug access in low-income countries
The Access to Medicine Index has released its most recent report, which ranks 20 of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies on efforts to ensure that medicines are made for and reach people in low-income countries. Read more.

Obama Administration announces focus countries under Global Health Initiative
The Obama Administration has announced the eight nations designated as “GHI Plus” countries under the Global Health Initiative. Read more.

FDA posts online safety information about recently approved drugs, vaccines
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently launched a website where users can access safety information about drugs and vaccines recently approved by the agency. Read more.

Drug resistance accelerating worldwide, report finds
A new report from the Center for Global Development finds that increasing drug resistance worldwide is compromising efforts to treat global health diseases. Read more.

Former Senate leaders urge bipartisan support for international development
Former Senate majority leaders Senators Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Bill Frist (R-TN) recently published an opinion piece calling for bipartisan support for international development, highlighting the impact of US investment in the development of global health tools. Read more.

Women Deliver conference examines health innovations
Several speakers at the recent Women Deliver conference in Washington, DC, examined how a range of health technologies have benefited women worldwide. Read more.

Experts urge increased action to address spread of counterfeit drugs worldwide
During a recent meeting at the World Health Organization, experts examined the dangers posed by the spread of counterfeit drugs in low-income and wealthy nations. Read more.

GHTC Steering Committee authors op-ed in The Hill
The Hill’s “Congress Blog” recently published an op-ed authored by leaders of the Global Health Technologies Coalition’s Steering Committee. Read more.

Leaders, policymakers call for sustained USAID support, revised foreign aid strategy
US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah, Representative Gerald Connolly (D-VA), and other leaders from the US government and international bodies recently addressed the opening session of an international development forum hosted by InterAction. Read more.

US launches initiative to monitor impact of federal funding for science, research
The US Government recently launched a program that will monitor the effect of federal science investments on health outcomes and other issues. Read more.

May 2010

Video from global health R&D event available online
May 12, 2010 -- The Global Health Technologies Coalition recently posted videos on its first annual Congressional briefing, which highlighted that the United States has long been a leader in research and development for global health diseases. Read the GHTC announcement.

R&D prioritized by US global development policy draft, USAID administrator
May 7, 2010 -- The GHTC applauds the elevation of global health research and development in a draft of the National Security Council's document on US global development policy and statements from USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. Read the GHTC announcement.

International Microbicides Conference highlights HIV prevention research
The 2010 International Microbicides Conference (M2010), which took place in Pittsburgh, PA, USA this week, featured findings on HIV prevention research. Read more.

Important outcomes for health technologies from the annual World Health Assembly
During the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization passed a resolution focused on the prevention and treatment of pneumonia as part of efforts to reduce the child mortality rate. Read more.

Dengue fever reported in Florida, demonstrates importance of US role in combating global diseases
Twenty-eight cases of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne virus, have been discovered in Key West, Florida, USA—an area of the United States that has not experienced incidences of the disease since the 1934. Read more.

HIV organizations, US agencies observe World AIDS Vaccine Day
In honor of World AIDS Vaccine Day, several nonprofit organizations and US agencies released statements and authored articles and blog posts highlighting the urgent need for a vaccine to prevent HIV, and the hope in the future of HIV vaccine research. Read more.

South Africa to use new drug patent pool to speed development of malaria, TB drugs
South Africa will become the first government to tap into a drug patent pool established by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and run by BIO Ventures for Global Health. Read more.

US Secretary of State calls for enhanced USAID role in global development research
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently said that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) should become the “premier development research agency in the world.” Read more.

United Nations agencies release pediatric medicine guide, call for more research to close gaps
The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently published a list of sources and prices of certain medicines designed for children worldwide. Read more.

April 2010

GHTC issues recommendations for Congress, Administration
April 21, 2010 -- The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) recently released its first annual policy report, which provides recommendations for Congress and the Administration on how to position the United States as the leader in a worldwide movement to strengthen global health research and development (R&D). Read the GHTC announcement.

US leaders, foreign policy experts urge robust global affairs budget
Several US leaders—including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Rep. Howard Berman, and Sen. John Kerry—have called on Congress to approve a robust and sustained budget for US foreign affairs. Read more.

Report calls for new global health diagnostics
A new BIO Ventures for Global Health report examines groundbreaking technologies that could lead to innovative diagnostic tests in resource-poor countries. Read more.

Trade agreement could hinder generic drug access in developing countries, critics say
Some organizations and other critics are coming out against a potential trade agreement between India and the European Union that they say could hinder access to generic drugs in the developing world. Read more.

Drug demand in developing countries could boost worldwide sales
Demand for pharmaceutical products in developing countries could help to increase global sales by five percent each year through 2014, according to the research company IMS Health Inc. Read more.

Senate examines USAID budget request
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs recently held a hearing on the fiscal year 2011 budget request for the US Agency for International Development, including possible reforms to the agency’s operations. Read more.

Chemical company joins effort to develop malaria control products
The chemical company BASF has signed an agreement with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium to develop new malaria prevention tools based on the insecticide chlorfenapyr. Read more.

GHTC launches its first annual global health R&D policy report
The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) launched its first annual report on global health research and development, which focuses on the coalition's three priority areas. Read more.

Administration, global health officials discuss GHI details, implementation
Several Obama Administration officials recently joined representatives from the Kaiser Family Foundation and PATH to discuss the Global Health Initiative (GHI). Read more.

Companies tackle TB diagnostic, drug development
The company Guardian Technologies has developed a system to improve the diagnostic abilities of laboratory systems in some developing countries. Meanwhile, Pfizer and other pharmacuetical companies have entered into an agreement to develop new TB therapies. Read more.

USAID aims to enhance science diplomacy efforts
The Obama administration last month appointed Dr. Alex Dehgan to be the first science and technology advisor at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Read more.

New blog series highlights role of vaccines in saving lives worldwide
A new series was recently launched on the ONE blog to highlight how vaccines help to save the lives of women and children around the world. Read more.

Crucell, GSK partner to develop malaria vaccine candidate
Biotechnology company Crucell and pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have announced that they will jointly develop a malaria vaccine candidate. Read more.

Researchers discover compound that could lead to new treatments for sleeping sickness
British and Canadian scientists have discovered a compound that could lead to new treatments for African sleeping sickness, which infects between 50,000 and 70,000 people each year in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more.

Experts meet in Brazil to discuss drug development for global diseases
The Brazilian organization Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) this week held a meeting in Rio de Janeiro to examine how to increase financial resources and formulate studies that could lead to the development of drugs for global diseases. Read more.

Lawmakers urge USAID to boost treatment funding for four neglected diseases
Thirteen members of Congress recently sent the US Agency for International Development (USAID) a letter, calling on the agency to increase funding for the treatment of leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and Buruli ulcer. Read more.

March 2010

New partners join effort to develop childhood vaccines
March 25, 2010 -- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer recently joined a unique effort to bring vaccines to millions of children worldwide. Read more.

Global Health Technologies Coalition calls for US engagement in innovative effort to bring vaccines to children worldwide
March 23, 2010 -- New industry partners have joined the first Advance Market Commitment (AMC), a unique public health funding approach. Read the GHTC press statement.

CSIS Commission report highlights need for global health research, innovative financing
March 18, 2010 -- The report, which marks a year of deliberations by the bipartisan Commission on Smart Global Health Policy, promotes a long-term, strategic US approach to global health. Read the GHTC press statement.

President's Global Health Initiative proposed
March 5, 2010 -- Last month, President Obama released the initial proposed details of the new US Global Health Initiative (GHI)—a six-year, $63 billion commitment to global health—for comment by global health stakeholders. Read more.

PEPFAR releases annual report
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has released its sixth annual progress report to Congress. Read more.

New online tool tracks international aid
A newly launched online resource will track international aid flows worldwide, pulling together information from existing databases, donor documents, online resources, and direct contact with donors. Read more.

USAID launches US TB strategy
USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah recently unveiled a new US global tuberculosis strategy, which among other goals aims to reduce by 50 percent TB cases and deaths by 2014. Read more.

FDA developing new guidelines for combination therapies
FDA is drafting new guidelines that could ease the testing and approval process for multidrug therapies for diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Read more.

Glaxo to extend flexible drug pricing program to middle-income countries
Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it plans to boost sales in middle-income countries and reduce prices in some of the world’s poorest nations. Read more.

Clinton, Gates urge US to boost global health assistance
Former president Bill Clinton and Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday and called on lawmakers to increase foreign assistance for global health programs. Read more.

Global health groups call on US trade representative to ease drug access in developing countries
The groups are calling on the US trade representative, Ron Kirk, to make it easier for developing countries to access generic drugs without the penalties associated with violating intellectual property rights. Read more.

Brazil aims to vaccinate 90 million people against H1N1 flu
Brazil’s health minister has announced that the country plans to provide 90 million people with the H1N1 flu vaccine through a nationwide campaign beginning this month. Read more.

February 2010

Members of Global Health Technologies Coalition respond to the President's Global Health Initiative
February 22, 2010 -- Several GHTC member organizations applauded the Administration's proposal, and say that greater emphasis on research and development for new tools is need. Read the response from GHTC members.

New report issues recommendations to enhance registration processes of drugs for neglected diseases in Africa
February 19, 2010 -- The report, “Registering New Drugs: the African Context," assesses pathways to facilitate review of new neglected disease drugs by African experts. Read more on the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative website.

White House Prioritizes Health Research and Development
February 8, 2010 -- In several speeches and initiatives over the past year, President Obama has singled out research and development (R&D) as a priority of his administration. Read more.

Global Health Technologies Coalition applauds White House budget proposal
February 1, 2010 -- President Obama's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal clearly demonstrates that the White House is committed to research and development (R&D) and global health issues by increasing funding for several key US agencies. Read the GHTC press statement.

FDA, NIH launch partnership to accelerate decisions on advanced research products
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have announced a new partnership to speed FDA safety and efficacy decisions on new products that result from advanced research. Read more.

FDA approves new pneumonia, meningitis vaccine
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Pfizer’s Prevnar 13—a vaccine against pneumonia, meningitis, and other infections—for children ages five and younger. Read more.

Study finds benefits associated with treating HIV, TB together
A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that treating HIV and tuberculosis simultaneously could save more lives than treating TB first. Read more.

Flightless mosquito could help curb spread of dengue
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals how scientists are attempting to breed a genetically altered female mosquito that cannot fly. Read more.

Researchers develop technology to stabilize vaccines in high temperatures
Oxford University scientists and the company Nova Laboratories have created a sugar technology that stabilizes vaccines, even in tropical temperatures. Read more.

HIV/AIDS research conference opens in San Francisco
Several media outlets reported on HIV/AIDS studies and other news from the CROI 2010 conference in San Francisco. Read more.

Antibodies contribute to dengue-associated disease
Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have confirmed a hypothesis that antibodies—which typically help the body fend off infection—actually contribute to a severe dengue-associated disease. Read more.

Herpes treatment slows HIV progression
New research indicates that the herpes drug acyclovir could also slow HIV progression in people living with both diseases. Read more.

Mode of HIV transmission between men who have sex with men pinpointed
US researchers have discovered how HIV is transmitted between men who have sex with men. Read more.

Up to 40 percent of malaria drugs in some African countries substandard, study finds
A new study by US and World Health Organization researchers finds that between 26% and 44% of malaria drugs in Madagascar, Senegal and Uganda were of substandard quality. Read more. 

Study indicates that experimental malaria vaccine might be effective in children
US and African researchers have reported that an experimental malaria vaccine could provide a high  level of protection among children. Read more. 

Wellcome Trust awards grant for microbicide research
The Wellcome Trust has awarded the Mintaka Foundation for Medical Research a grant to fund microbicide clinical trials. Read more.

Obama releases FY 2011 budget proposal
President Obama on Feb. 1 released his proposal for the fiscal year 2011 federal budget. Read more.

Crystal provides insights into HIV enzyme
Researchers in the U.K. and U.S. have developed a crystal that provides insights into the structure of the HIV enzyme integrase. Read more.

Researchers examine tobacco as HIV prevention tool
Researchers at the University of London are researching the use of tobacco antibodies to prevent HIV infection. Read more.

Developing countries not receiving surplus H1N1 vaccines
Many developing nations have not received H1N1 vaccines that wealthier countries have in excess. Read more.

January 2010

New data on rotavirus vaccine from Mexico and Africa show lifesaving impact and effectiveness in the developing world
January 28, 2010 --The studies underscore the importance of vaccination in achieving significant reduction of severe rotavirus infections among children in the developing world, where disease impact is greatest. Read more on the PATH website.

Gates foundation pledges at least $10B for vaccines.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently pledged to double its spending on vaccines over the next ten years. Read more.

Vaccine might be effective at preventing TB among HIV-positive people
A new study in the journal AIDS by researchers at Dartmouth has found that an experimental TB vaccine might reduce cases among HIV-positive people. Read more.

Dengue vaccine enters human trials
Australian company Acuvax has announced that its U.S. subsidiary has begun Phase 1 study of an experimental dengue vaccine. Read more.

Chikungunya vaccine candidate effective in animal studies
A new study indicates that an experimental Chikungunya vaccine is effective in studies among monkeys and mice. Read more.

Researchers determine how malaria parasite reproduces
A group of international researchers has discovered how malaria parasites reproduce. Read more.

December 2009

Groundbreaking survey of funding for global health research and development released in India
December 16, 2009 -- Report from the George Institute highlights the critical role the United States plays in advancing new health technologies and the need for sustained and increased funding for research. Read the GHTC press release.

September 2009

New report demonstrates power of vaccines and immunizations worldwide
September 21, 2009 -- Report from the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank underscores the importance of research and development of new solutions. Read the GHTC press release.

May 2009

GHTC receives funding to encourage new health solutions for the developing world.
May 15, 2009 -- New coalition advocates for accelerated access to global health technologies. Read the GHTC press release.