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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. Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch have developed an experimental, single-dose drug that has shown to successfully protect non-human primates against all known strains of the Ebola virus. "Our experimental drug can protect against all forms of Ebola known to harm people, suggesting that it will continue to protect people if the Ebola viruses evolve over time," noted scientist Thomas Geisbert. In contrast to many other therapeutics developed to protect against Ebola, a single-dose, broadly effective drug could provide protection against the virus quickly and efficiently during an outbreak while reducing the burden on health care workers in the field. Further studies could explore the efficacy of lower doses of the drug, which could allow for easy-to-administer treatment via auto-injectors.Researchers at the University of Arizona have taken a major step forward in developing a “mosquito birth control” drug—which targets a unique protein in female mosquitoes—to help curb the spread of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. This unique protein is critical for a female’s offspring to hatch and when blocked causes defective shells, leaving the embryos inside to die. Developing a drug that targets this specific protein could provide a way to reduce mosquito populations without harming other insects, such as bees. One scientist noted he hoped this discovery could lead to the development of new insecticides within the next five years, which could be applied to bednets and used in anti-mosquito sprays. Researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland have developed an experimental new treatment for tuberculosis (TB), which is administered using an inhaler. The treatment—which reduces the bacteria in the lungs that causes TB while helping the patient’s immune system fight the disease—uses all trans retinoic acid (atRA), a derivative of Vitamin A that has been shown as an effective treatment for TB. To deliver the treatment, researchers packaged atRA into safe-for-consumption particles small enough to use in an inhaler. The particles significantly reduced TB-causing bacteria and associated lung damage, which supports the treatment’s potential for clinical testing.

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.Scientists from the Fraunhofer Society have developed a first-of-its kind technology that uses electron beams to produce inactivated vaccines quickly and reproducibly without the use of chemicals. Inactivated vaccines contain pathogens that have been killed so they are no longer harmful to patients. Often these pathogens are killed using chemicals, such as diluted formaldehyde. This process is time consuming and can have a negative impact on both the structure of the pathogen and the reproducibility of the vaccine. The new technique uses electrons to fragment the DNA of the pathogens while maintaining their external structure, which is key to triggering an effective immune response. It will likely be another two to four years before vaccines produced using electron beams can be tested in clinical trials. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to Valneva’s chikungunya vaccine candidate, which will allow the product to receive expedited review by the agency given it holds potential to fill an unmet medical need. The company is expected to release phase 1 data for the vaccine candidate in the coming weeks. Currently, there are no approved treatments or vaccines for chikungunya‒a disease that causes debilitating joint pain‒though there are several candidate vaccines in clinical testing.The Marburg virus, a deadly cousin of Ebola, has been isolated in fruit bats in Sierra Leone, marking the first time the virus has been found in West Africa. According to two teams of scientists involved in this discovery, five bats caught in three health districts tested positive for the virus. Genetic testing revealed multiple strains of the virus in each bat, which suggests that the virus has circulated in West Africa for many years. This testing was done as part of a project funded by the US Agency for International Development, known as PREDICT, which aims to detect dangerous pathogens in animals and take steps to prevent them from crossing over into humans and triggering disease outbreaks. PREDICT takes a “one health” approach by uniting the work of medical doctors, veterinarians, and occasionally plant biologists to detect threats in other species.

Update: On Thursday, January 3, 2019, the President signed this legislation into law. WASHINGTON, DC—The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) applauds yesterday’s Senate passage of the Global Health Innovation Act, a bipartisan bill to support efforts by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop affordable, appropriate technologies to advance the health of people in the world’s poorest places. The bill, which has already passed the House of Representatives, now heads to the President’s desk where he is expected to sign it into law.“Investments in research and development are critical to tackling the world’s greatest global health challenges and building a safer, healthier world for all,” said Emily Conron, US Policy and Advocacy Officer at GHTC. “Passage of this bill is a strong endorsement of the importance of continued US leadership in global health research and will help USAID continue to build upon and maximize the impact of its activities in this space.”This legislation, long championed by GHTC, will enhance transparency and oversight to provide a clearer picture of USAID’s strategic engagement in health research and development (R&D) as part of the agency’s broader mission to empower partner nations with the tools needed to solve their health and development challenges. Specifically, the bill directs USAID to report annually to Congress on its health R&D activities, progress, and impact and articulate how the agency is working in coordination with other US agencies, donors, and through public-private partnership to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of programs.For decades, USAID has supported the development and scale up of low-cost, high-impact technologies to address the health needs of vulnerable populations worldwide. The agency has helped advance 22 new lifesaving global health technologies approved since 2000 and is supporting 36 promising products now in late-stage development.The Global Health Innovation Act was introduced by Representatives Albio Sires (D-NJ) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL). It passed the House of Representatives in January 2018 before progressing without amendment to the Senate.“GHTC would like to thank Representatives Sires and Diaz-Balart and the many other members who supported this legislation and who have continued to make global health research a bipartisan priority,” said Conron.