GHTC sends FY25 letters to congressional appropriators

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on agenda items that will be tackled during this year’s World Health Assembly. GHTC urges US policymakers to prioritize the following actions to strengthen research and development (R&D) to address these urgent health challenges: On antimicrobial resistance (AMR), it is vital to bolster investments and incentives for R&D for new antimicrobials and other tools to fight AMR and to improve global surveillance and laboratory capacity. Innovations should be developed with the goal of promoting broad accessibility, including for vulnerable populations and those in low-resource settings. The United States should work with member states to support the resolution tabled under this agenda item and call for the creation of a global AMR laboratory network to strengthen diagnostic capacity. In advance of this year’s United Nations High-Level Meeting on AMR, we also urge the United States to push the relevant United Nations agencies to hold an open, inclusive consultative process to define global AMR priorities. On maternal and child health, we welcome the draft resolution and its proposed language calling for increased R&D of health tools to address the specific medical needs of women and children, which are often neglected. We urge the United States to support the ongoing work of the Global Accelerator for Paediatric Formulations Network, or GAP-f, including prioritizing R&D for priority products on the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Paediatric Antiretroviral Drug Optimization list. For pregnant women, we need to speed up and scale up access to preventive tools and treatments and include pregnant and lactating women in research and clinical trials to improve data quality and availability of therapeutic options. On tuberculosis (TB) and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), we urge the United States to work with member states to substantially increase investments in R&D. To meet the goals of the Global Strategy for Tuberculosis Research and Innovation, member states must increase domestic investments in TB R&D in line with fair share targets and supercharge research efforts to develop novel vaccines, point-of-care diagnostics, and improved therapies while also ensuring tools are appropriate for all populations, including pregnant people and children. In implementing research efforts to support the NTD roadmap, member states and WHO should position impacted countries to lead in R&D priority-setting, promote South-South collaboration models, and consider the growing impact of climate change. For both TB and NTD innovations, the United States should work with WHO’s divisions on Science and Access to Medicines and Health Products, as well as member states to consider ways to better align the prequalification and regulatory approval processes to accelerate access to vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics.  

GHTC submitted the following intervention at a US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) listening session held on April 18 ahead of the G20 Health Ministers' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro.Thank you for the opportunity to share our coalition’s priorities for the upcoming G20 Health Ministers’ meeting in Rio de Janeiro. As the United States and others consider reforms to realize a more fit-for-purpose global health architecture, the Global Health Technologies Coalition urges them to prioritize the following actions to strengthen research and development (R&D): 1. We urge the G20 countries to invest $80 million in FIND's 100 Days Mission for diagnostic and $1.5 billion to fulfill the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations' 100 Days Mission strategy for vaccines, as well as to support Unitaid and others for therapeutics. Additionally, we appreciate US leadership in catalyzing investment in the Pandemic Fund, and we urge the US government to work with G20 countries to fully finance the institution annually at $10.5 billion, focusing on low- and middle-income countries, and to develop a global pandemic response financing playbook for flexible access to medical countermeasures. 2. We urge the United States to support national and regional regulatory bodies ensuring safe product distribution in low- and middle-income countries, invest in tailored health technologies for vulnerable populations, provide technical support for equitable distribution through organizations like the World Health Organization, and engage local communities in designing and delivering health technologies. 3. We advocate for the establishment of an inclusive medical countermeasures platform guided by human rights principles, prioritizing low- and middle-income countries through sustainable financing and equitable access.  4. To strengthen local capacity, we urge the United States to support R&D hubs, endorse regionally led manufacturing plans, and secure commitments from private sector and government for technology transfer and regulatory support.  5. To tackle climate and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), we urge the United States to invest in interdisciplinary R&D for novel antimicrobials, increase funding for push and pull incentives like the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator and the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership, and facilitate global discussions on R&D priorities through the Global AMR R&D Hub.