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Interested in more global health innovation news? Every week GHTC scours media reports worldwide to deliver essential global health R&D news and content to your inbox. Sign-up now to receive our weekly R&D News Roundup email.Dexamethasone, an inexpensive, decades-old drug is showing promise for treating COVID-19, per unpublished, preliminary results from a study called Recovery that was funded by the United Kingdom. The preliminary results indicated that the drug reduced the risk of death for patients on ventilators by 35 percent, those receiving oxygen by 20 percent, and overall mortality by 17 percent. Immediately following the results, the United Kingdom granted approval for use of the drug to treat COVID-19. According to FiercePharma, UK officials have enough dexamethasone stockpiled to treat 200,000 patients.  A recent study lends support to anecdotal evidence that blood type and genetics may be linked to worse outcomes from COVID-19 illness. Last Wednesday, a team of European researchers published a study in The New England Journal of Medicine indicating that people with type A blood have a 45 percent higher risk of catching COVID-19 and sliding into respiratory failure and people with type O blood have a 35 percent lower risk of developing respiratory failure compared to people with other blood types. Scientists are still unsure why blood type might be correlated with COVID-19 outcomes, but a nascent hypothesis is that it could be linked to blood clotting risk. The researchers also found that a cluster of genes are associated with higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 by 77 percent.A project led by researchers from Scripps Research, GHTC member IAVI, and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine published research in Science detailing a set of antibodies discovered in recovered COVID-19 patients that provide powerful protection against SARS-CoV-2. In theory, the antibodies could be given to patients who are just developing the illness to prevent progression to severe disease and to protect people who are at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. To discover the antibodies, the scientists isolated more than 1,000 distinct antibody-producing immune cells, obtained genetic sequences from these cells to produce more antibodies, and then tested the antibodies’ effectiveness against blocking the virus in vitro. The researchers discovered several antibodies that, even in small quantities, could block the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The work was funded by the US National Institutes of Health, IAVI, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.

A letter endorsed by GHTC's director Jamie Bay Nishi calling for greater investment in research on COVID-19 diagnostics through the ACT Accelerator was featured in Politico Europe's Morning Health Care newsletter. The letter, from the G20 Health and Development Partnership, notes the ACT Accelerator has allocated only 2.5 percent of funding to diagnostics despite their critical importance to an effective response to COVID-19 and calls for countries to remedy this funding imbalance at the June 27th Second Pledging Conference organized by the European Union in partnership with Global Citizen.See excerpt below from the Politico newsletter:FIRST IN MHC — ‘MORE MONEY FOR TESTING,’ ADVOCACY GROUP SAYS: The G20 Health and Development Partnership is calling for more funds to be spent on testing. In an open letter due to be published today, the advocacy group said that too little money is being spent on diagnostic solutions in the pandemic. It noted that the ACT-Accelerator has allocated about 46 percent of donated funds to strengthen health systems and around 24 percent to vaccine development, but less than 3 percent on testing solutions. “It is puzzling why diagnostics have received such low levels of funding given its critical importance to an effective response to COVID-19,” the letter reads.

Interested in more global health innovation news? Every week GHTC scours media reports worldwide to deliver essential global health R&D news and content to your inbox. Sign-up now to receive our weekly R&D News Roundup email.The Department of Defense Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will partner with SiO2, an advanced materials science company, to introduce a novel technology for packaging COVID-19 vaccines and other pharmaceuticals. JPEO-CBRND and BARDA will provide US$143 million in funding to scale production of the company’s new technology that includes a plastic container with a microscopic glass coating. The product is thermal stable (range of -196 C to 121 C), highly durable (able to withstand 1,500 pounds of direct force), and precision molded, making it more dimensionally consistent than glass vials.The vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in partnership with Moderna, will begin phase 3 clinical testing by July, followed in August by Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s vaccine, and in September by Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. All three companies are backed by the US government as part of Operation Warp Speed, and each is testing new technology.On Monday, an official from the World Health Organization (WHO) suggested that spread of COVID-19 by people who are asymptomatic is “very rare,” but clarified on Tuesday that scientists are actually unsure how frequently asymptomatic spread occurs. The initial comments caused a stir among public health experts, some labelling the comment as miscommunication. Underlying the confusion is that the term “asymptomatic” can mean either people who are presymptomatic or people who develop a full infection without showing symptoms. There is some evidence that fully asymptomatic cases may not be very contagious, while other studies show that patients may be most contagious when they are presymptomatic. Either way, experts note, individuals without symptoms should still be taking precautions.

A bipartisan group of members of Congress are urging colleagues to provide additional resources for biomedical research and development (R&D) to strengthen the international response to COVID-19. In a Dear Colleague letter led by Representatives Susan Wild (D-PA) and Ted Yoho (R-FL), these members called on House appropriators to provide resources for globally focused research efforts at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to complement domestic efforts already funded by the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense to develop vaccines, treatments, and testing against COVID-19.“As we consider what is needed for an exit strategy for America, we believe Congress must make decisions now to shorten the timeline of suffering, stamp out the virus, and ensure efforts to defeat the pandemic globally are equally effective,” reads the letter. “Just as innovation has powered the steady progress we are making in combating COVID-19 at home, ending the pandemic will require investing in new innovations to address COVID-19 in some of the poorest places in the world.”As America’s foreign assistance agency, USAID has a long history of leadership in developing medical technologies designed specifically for low-resource settings that have weaker health systems and may lack basic infrastructure. Currently the US government does not participate in CEPI, a global vaccine development alliance that is supporting nine vaccine candidates for COVID-19.The signers of the letter join a growing chorus of voices calling for the US government to fully fund a global COVID-19 response in future emergency funding packages. A major coronavirus supplemental package signed into law at the end of March dedicated less than one percent of funding to global efforts, and the supplemental bill most recently passed by the House of Representatives contains zero funding for international assistance.“It’s clear that our only victory against COVID-19 is a global victory,” said Jamie Bay Nishi, Director of the Global Health Technologies Coalition. “And winning that war will require investments now in R&D to respond to the full spectrum of global needs. We thank Representatives Yoho and Wild and the other signers for their leadership on advancing this critical issue.”###LETTER TEXT AND SIGNERSJune 3, 2020Chairwoman Nita Lowey2365 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515Ranking Member Kay Granger1026 Longworth House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515Dear Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger,We write to thank you for your leadership in the fight against COVID-19, and we urge you to provide additional resources for vital research and development (R&D) efforts in future emergency supplemental appropriations bills.We, the undersigned Members of Congress, have bioscience research facilities in our districts that are partnering with federal agencies including BARDA, NIH, CDC, and DTRA on the development and deployment of new diagnostics, drugs, vaccines and other health products to help us win this fight. We view the advancement of these efforts as our foundation to defeat the COVID-19 virus, and as a necessary investment to protect the health and economic security of Americans.We know the suffering the virus is causing here—home to the most cutting-edge hospitals, best trained health workers, and high-quality health products the world has ever seen. The effect of COVID-19 is projected to be even more devastating in communities around the world without these resources. As we consider what is needed for an exit strategy for America, we believe Congress also must make decisions now to shorten the timeline of suffering, stamp out the virus, and ensure efforts to defeat the pandemic globally are equally effective. These global efforts will be necessary to avoid the resurgence of the virus here at home.Domestically, over the last two months, HHS and DoD have invested more than $10 billion in research and development partnerships with leading universities and bioscience research companies across the United States. These research institutions are moving at record speed to develop, test, and manufacture new health technologies and to rapidly scale up the availability of effective COVID-19 diagnostics. This progress, fueled by R&D investments provided by Congress, will be critical in stamping out COVID-19 in our own districts and states.Just as innovation has powered the steady progress we are making in combating COVID-19 at home, ending the pandemic will require investing in new innovations to address COVID-19 in some of the poorest places in the world. In low resource settings, mitigation techniques like handwashing and social distancing aren’t always feasible, and isolating suspected cases to reduce the risk of death cannot be managed without the right products and personal protective equipment for frontline health workers. To address these challenges, our R&D investments at HHS and DoD must be matched by resourcing similar capabilities at USAID, a leader in global health innovation with a track record of delivering tools for emerging and enduring health threats, and by supporting global efforts to advance vaccine candidates through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Initiatives (CEPI). To ensure success, these R&D investments must also be paired with funding to roll out and scale up new innovations through partners such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.As we work to respond to the pressing needs in our own districts, we must do so with a global perspective in mind. Shoring up the gains we are fighting for against this emerging infectious disease will mean defeating COVID-19 in every community around the globe. Innovation is our exit strategy for this pandemic: investing now in critical research and development programs to respond to the full range of global needs is a down payment on ensuring that in the coming months American health workers are safe, American children return to school, and the American economy begins to rebuild.Sincerely,Susan WildTed S. YohoDavid N. CicillineVicente GonzalezAmi Bera, M.D.David TronChrissy Houlahan