News

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. In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. Research carried out in part by an artificially intelligent (AI) robot discovered that a common ingredient in toothpaste—triclosan—showed potential to interrupt malaria-causing parasites at two critical stages of malaria progression. Triclosan, an ingredient used to prevent plaque build-up, is believed to halt the parasites growth in the blood and liver by inhibiting two different enzymes within the parasite, enoyl reductase and DHFR. Triclosan was able to target and inhibit DHFR, even in parasites resistant to the common antimalarial pyrimethamine. This discovery could potentially pave the way for new drug development, and the successful use of AI could result in more robots used for drug discovery purposes. A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded schistosomiasis vaccine candidate will soon enter a Phase 1b clinical trial in an endemic region of Brazil. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the George Washington University, and the René Rachou Institute will lead a double-blind, randomized, and controlled study in a group of 60 males and non-pregnant females with potential previous exposure to the parasite to test two different formulations of the vaccine. Schistosomiasis is the second most deadly parasitic infection in the world, affecting more than 200 million people worldwide. The vaccine being tested targets one of two parasite species, which accounts for one-third of all cases and one-half of schistosomiasis deaths worldwide. Many individuals previously treated for schistosomiasis are susceptible to reinfection, highlighting the importance of developing a safe and effective vaccine. A new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate yielded positive results in monkeys, according to a new study published in Nature Medicine. The monkey species, rhesus macaques, are genetically similar to humans, but are significantly more susceptible to TB. The vaccine reduced overall TB disease by 68 percent—a major increase compared to the non-measurable protection rate of the current TB vaccine in rhesus macaques. Additionally, 41 percent of vaccinated monkeys had complete protection from TB, while 30 percent developed a less severe case of TB than unvaccinated monkeys. Thirty percent of vaccinated rhesus monkeys showed no protection. TB kills more than 1.7 million people every year, and the rise of drug-resistant TB highlights the growing need for an effective vaccine.

The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) welcomes yesterday’s passage by the US House of Representatives of the Global Health Innovation Act (H.R. 1660), a bipartisan bill that will strengthen efforts by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop lifesaving drugs, vaccines, and other health technologies for people in need around the world. This legislation, introduced by Representatives Albio Sires (NJ-8) and Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) and long championed by GHTC, aims to improve the effectiveness of current USAID health research programming by requiring the agency report annually to Congress on its health-related research and development (R&D) activities and articulate how it sets strategic goals and measures impact. The bill also directs USAID to report how it is working through public-private partnerships and with donors and other US agencies to magnify the impact of its investments and accelerate the development of urgently needed tools. “USAID is an under-recognized powerhouse in developing new technologies to advance the health of people in the world’s poorest places,” said Jamie Bay Nishi, director of GHTC. “By enhancing monitoring, transparency, and oversight, this bill will help USAID continue its leadership in global health research and will help the agency and partners measure progress and identify gaps to more efficiently and effectively advance its mission and save more lives worldwide.” Despite tremendous progress in global health over the past two decades, millions of people still suffer or die each year because we do not have the right tools to combat long-standing and emerging health threats. New drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and other health tools are urgently needed, but progress cannot be made without sustained investment in R&D. For decades, USAID has supported the development, introduction, and scale up of low-cost, high-impact technologies to address the health needs of poor and vulnerable populations worldwide.The agency’s deep international footprint, combined with its in-depth understanding of community needs and cultures, uniquely positions the agency to support product development for tools that are appropriate and affordable for use in low-resource settings. USAID has helped advance 22 new lifesaving global health technologies introduced since 2000—including a low-cost meningitis vaccine and the first child-friendly malaria medicine—and is supporting 36 promising products now in late-stage development. “US investments in global health research deliver significant returns, not only saving millions of lives around the world, but also paying dividends for America by strengthening our economy, saving money, and improving our national security," said Nishi. “I want to thank Representatives Sires and Diaz-Balart as well as other members who supported the Global Health Innovation Act for championing America’s continued leadership in global health R&D through agencies like USAID.”   ### The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) works to save and improve lives by encouraging the research and development of essential health technologies. We are a coalition of more than 25 nonprofit organizations advancing policies to accelerate the creation of new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and other health tools that bring health lives within reach for all people. GHTC is housed at PATH.  

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.   In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. Researchers discovered a way to reprogram immune cells to attack tuberculosis (TB), potentially paving the way for new methods to combat the disease. Traditionally, TB vaccine research has focused on activating T cells, which has yielded overall mediocre results. In this case, researchers turned their attention to stem cells. They found that when they administered the current TB vaccine BCG to mice in a way that accessed the mice’s bone marrow, it was able to reprogram their stem cells to mobilize white blood cells capable of swallowing and killing TB-causing bacteria. Researchers were then able use this finding to dissect the genomic pathways involved in triggering this enhanced immune response. Though further research is needed on the potential of stem cells, researchers are hopeful this new method could lead to a more effective vaccine against the disease. A group of 180 scientists, malaria program leaders, and global policymakers recently updated the Malaria Eradication Research Agenda (malERA) Refresh Collection, a research and development agenda that aims to accelerate progress toward total malaria elimination and eradication. Launched in 2011, the original agenda aimed to identify key knowledge gaps and define tools needed to combat malaria. The updated version addresses progress made and identifies the main challenges remaining across the areas of basic science and enabling technologies; combination interventions and modeling; diagnostics, drugs, vaccines, and vector control; insecticide and drug resistance; characterizing the reservoir and measuring transmission; and health systems and policy research. The developers of the collection hope it will provide a framework for malaria-focused research funders, the World Health Organization, and impacted nations as they make programmatic decisions for malaria elimination and eradication. Scientists at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center believe the genomic sequence of the sooty mangabey monkey may provide useful knowledge in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Sooty mangabeys are natural hosts for the Simonian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)—a genetic relative of the HIV infection—yet the animals are able to maintain healthy levels of immune cells after infection, preventing any future progression to an AIDS-like disease. After sequencing the genome of the sooty mangabey and comparing it to the genomes of humans and other apes, scientists found two major differences in immune system proteins in the genome of the sooty mangabey, which may help scientists better understand why sooty mangabeys avoid AIDS-like illness despite SIV infection. Scientists hope that further research on these genomic differences will pave the way for improved long-term care of HIV-positive individuals, including pregnant women, and unlock new avenues for vaccine research.