A report from GHTC and Policy Cures Research examines how US federal funding for global health R&D is delivering impact both abroad and at home.

Search the GHTC website

Breakthroughs Blog

Breakthroughs Blog

Latest from the Breakthroughs Blog

Breakthroughs brings you stories of bright ideas and bold innovations in global health.

PATH/Will Boase
November 3, 2025

Research Roundup: Potent antibiotic, Broad-spectrum antivenom, Prequalified TB test

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.

Written by Hannah Sachs-Wetstone / GHTC
Read time:
A team of chemists from the University of Warwick and Monash University has identified a promising, potent new antibiotic that seems to be much more effective than existing drugs against deadly superbugs like MRSA and shows no signs of resistance so far, encouraging news as the global threat of antimicrobial resistance continues to grow and the pipeline of new antibiotics continues to fall short. The molecule had been overlooked for decades as an intermediate chemical in the natural process to produce another known antibiotic, methylenomycin A, which was discovered 50 years ago, and despite having been synthesized multiple times, the synthetic intermediates have seemingly not been tested before for antimicrobial activity. The new antibiotic is much more potent than methylenomycin A itself—100 times more active against a range of serious bacteria. It could not only be a powerful new tool against rising drug resistance, but this work could also pave the way for new approaches to antibiotic discovery. A team of researchers has developed an antivenom using antibodies from a llama and an alpaca that can neutralize venom from some of the world’s most venomous snakes. Snakebites are a neglected public health issue that kill around 20,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa yearly. Current antivenom treatments are usually specific to a single snake species, and it can be difficult to identify which of the many types of venomous snakes is behind a bite, making timely, effective treatment difficult to achieve. The researchers exposed an alpaca and a llama to venoms from 18 of the most dangerous snake species in sub-Saharan Africa, isolated the antibodies that the animals produced against the venom, and then combined some of those antibodies in a single cocktail. In mice, the treatment protected against toxins from 17 African snake species and reduced skin damage. Many scientists previously thought that developing a broad-spectrum antivenom would require too many antibodies to be practical because some venom can contain up to 100 toxins, but this study shows that a combination of just a handful of antibodies can neutralize the venom of many snake species, paving the way for the development of similar broad-spectrum antivenoms for other areas where snakebites are a common public health challenge. Last week, Cepheid announced that its Xpert MTB/XDR test for tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance has been prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO), enabling procurement through international agencies and greater access in areas with a high TB burden. The test is designed to detect resistance to multiple first- and second-line TB drugs from patient samples. It also delivers results quickly, within 90 minutes, allowing health care providers to make quicker, more reliable treatment decisions and have a better understanding of drug resistance, especially in regions with a high TB burden where timing and accuracy are critically important. 

Recent blog posts

PATH/Will Boase
November 3, 2025

Research Roundup: Potent antibiotic, Broad-spectrum antivenom, Prequalified TB test

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.

Written by Hannah Sachs-Wetstone / GHTC
Read time:
A team of chemists from the University of Warwick and Monash University has identified a promising, potent new antibiotic that seems to be much more effective than existing drugs against deadly superbugs like MRSA and shows no signs of resistance so far, encouraging news as the global threat of antimicrobial resistance continues to grow and the pipeline of new antibiotics continues to fall short. The molecule had been overlooked for decades as an intermediate chemical in the natural process to produce another known antibiotic, methylenomycin A, which was discovered 50 years ago, and despite having been synthesized multiple times, the synthetic intermediates have seemingly not been tested before for antimicrobial activity. The new antibiotic is much more potent than methylenomycin A itself—100 times more active against a range of serious bacteria. It could not only be a powerful new tool against rising drug resistance, but this work could also pave the way for new approaches to antibiotic discovery. A team of researchers has developed an antivenom using antibodies from a llama and an alpaca that can neutralize venom from some of the world’s most venomous snakes. Snakebites are a neglected public health issue that kill around 20,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa yearly. Current antivenom treatments are usually specific to a single snake species, and it can be difficult to identify which of the many types of venomous snakes is behind a bite, making timely, effective treatment difficult to achieve. The researchers exposed an alpaca and a llama to venoms from 18 of the most dangerous snake species in sub-Saharan Africa, isolated the antibodies that the animals produced against the venom, and then combined some of those antibodies in a single cocktail. In mice, the treatment protected against toxins from 17 African snake species and reduced skin damage. Many scientists previously thought that developing a broad-spectrum antivenom would require too many antibodies to be practical because some venom can contain up to 100 toxins, but this study shows that a combination of just a handful of antibodies can neutralize the venom of many snake species, paving the way for the development of similar broad-spectrum antivenoms for other areas where snakebites are a common public health challenge. Last week, Cepheid announced that its Xpert MTB/XDR test for tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance has been prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO), enabling procurement through international agencies and greater access in areas with a high TB burden. The test is designed to detect resistance to multiple first- and second-line TB drugs from patient samples. It also delivers results quickly, within 90 minutes, allowing health care providers to make quicker, more reliable treatment decisions and have a better understanding of drug resistance, especially in regions with a high TB burden where timing and accuracy are critically important. 
US Department of State
October 27, 2025

Research Roundup: Typhoid conjugate vaccine study, Ebola/Marburg test funding, COVID mRNA vaccines help cancer patients

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.

Written by Hannah Sachs-Wetstone / GHTC
Read time:
A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies looking at the effectiveness of typhoid conjugate vaccines found that they are highly effective in preventing typhoid fever in countries where the infection is endemic, adding to the collection of real-world evidence supporting their use. Despite the high burden of typhoid fever—an infection caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi—in Africa and Asia, only ten countries to date have added the vaccines to their national immunization programs. There are three vaccines for preventing typhoid fever that are currently recommended and licensed by the World Health Organization. Last week, California-based True Diagnostics announced that it had received an award of upward of $11 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support the development of a blood-based rapid antigen test for Ebola and Marburg viruses. The test, if it proves effective, could help boost testing capacity and national preparedness for outbreaks of pathogens with pandemic potential like Ebola and Marburg viruses, which have caused worrying outbreaks in Africa in recent years. Specifically, the funding will support the further development, validation testing, and regulatory submissions of its VeriClear EbV MARV Rapid Antigen Test to detect and differentiate Ebola and Marburg viruses in fingerstick blood samples.   A research team presented new data at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Berlin, Germany last week, showing that cancer patients who received COVID-19 mRNA vaccines within 100 days of starting immunotherapy drugs survived more often than non-vaccinated patients. These findings suggest that mRNA vaccines could help improve outcomes for cancer patients being treated with immunotherapies and even patients with treatment-resistant cancers. While these results are preliminary and need to be confirmed in an upcoming Phase 3 randomized clinical trial, scientists say they could revolutionize cancer care, perhaps even paving the way for a universal, off-the-shelf vaccine for cancer. 
PATH/Gabe Bienczycki
October 20, 2025

Research Roundup: Preeclampsia test funding, Partnership on flu vaccine development, Chewing gum flu testing method

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.

Written by Hannah Sachs-Wetstone / GHTC
Read time:
Last week, Monod Bio announced that it has received a $750,000 grant from the Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges initiative to develop a point-of-care test for preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure, which is a leading cause of maternal deaths. Preeclampsia is a particular challenge in low- and middle-income countries where complex and high-cost testing is not always accessible. The test is designed to detect two protein biomarkers associated with preeclampsia and utilizes an artificial intelligence-derived algorithm to analyze the results. The developers aim for the test to be a rapid, one-step tool that delivers results in under 15 minutes, without requiring complex and expensive laboratory infrastructure and highly skilled health care workers. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is partnering with the Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, to develop a new vaccine targeting H5N1 avian flu that elicits a broad immune response across multiple H5 viral strains. The vaccine candidate is intended to serve as a prototype vaccine for Disease X, a yet-to-arise pathogen with pandemic potential. This project is part of CEPI’s 100 Days Mission aimed at having a vaccine within 100 days of identifying a new pandemic threat.A research team from the German University of Würzburg has developed a method for diagnosing viral infections that leverages the unique features of the human tongue, which could be incorporated into gum or a lollipop. The researchers were inspired by prior work on dental implants, developing a method that uses chemical sensors to trigger a taste change in individuals infected with the flu, even before they experience symptoms. The researchers are now working to figure out how to make their method more sensitive and low-cost, tailor it to other diseases, test it on people with different levels of taste perception, and pair it with an app that would enable people to self-report infection, which could help generate real-time data across populations in the case of a large-scale influenza outbreak. 
PATH/Georgina Goodwin
October 13, 2025

Research Roundup: Vaccine for Salmonella/typhoid, Insecticide-treated baby wraps, Malaria drug trial in pregnant women

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.

Written by Hannah Sachs-Wetstone / GHTC
Read time:
An international research team, led by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, shared the results of the Phase 1 trial of a novel vaccine designed to protect against typhoid fever and non-typhoidal Salmonella infections, reporting that the vaccine produced a strong immune response and was safe and well-tolerated in a small group of healthy US adults. These encouraging findings pave the way for the next step of evaluating the vaccine in children. A single vaccine that targets Typhoid fever and non-typhoid Salmonella, both leading causes of illness and death in children in Africa, could be a game-changer for pediatric health. The vaccine could also help protect people in the United States and other high-income countries, where some types of Salmonella are common causes of foodborne illness. Following the example of the US military, who often wear uniforms treated with insecticide to repel mosquitoes in malaria-endemic regions, a research team has tested a similar approach to try to protect young children, who face a significant burden of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. While existing vector control tools, such as insecticide-treated bednets, only protect children while they’re sleeping, a large randomized controlled trial in Uganda tested the efficacy of insecticide-treated baby wraps, used in conjunction with bednets. The trial found that the baby wraps were highly effective at preventing malaria infections. The dramatic scale of the reduction of new infections also suggests that malaria-carrying mosquitoes were biting during the daytime more often than previously thought, which could help guide the development of new vector control tools and approaches. Last week, The Safety of Antimalarials in the FIRst trimEster (SAFIRE) consortium announced that it had enrolled its first patient in Mali, marking the official start of the first-ever Phase 3 adaptive platform trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of antimalarial drugs in the first trimester of pregnancy. The trial is a landmark achievement that could not only help fill the crucial gap of safe and effective options for pregnant women at risk of malaria, but it is also a step toward equity and inclusion for clinical research and drug development in general, which have long excluded pregnant women, fueling the gap in the first place. SAFIRE partners have shared that early formative research in the communities where the trial will take place was a crucial step in ensuring that the design and process were appropriate and acceptable to the communities. The study will continue to progress in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Kenya.