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With the New Year underway, GHTC is looking forward to a busy spring of multilateral organization meetings—with a number of them impacting global health research and development (R&D). First on the agenda is the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board (EB) meeting on January 25–30 in Geneva, where the EB will receive updates on a number of topics and make important decisions, particularly around how to proceed with the next steps of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG) process. The full provisional agenda is available here, but below, GHTC’s Matt Robinson highlights what you can expect on global health R&D related topics. WHO Executive Board (Photo: NCD Alliance) Agenda item #7 – Promoting health through the life course – Tuesday, January 26 7.1 – Monitoring of the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – Update to the Board The development of indicators to monitor progress toward the health-related MDGs has been a key priority for the WHO. This update to the Board outlines the current slate of health indicators, including indicator 8.E on affordable access to medicines. 7.2 – Health in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development – Update to the Board In this session the WHO Secretariat will present a report tracing the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), outlining key differences from the MDGs, and highlighting potential changes required at WHO to ensure a leading role for health in the new SDG framework. As the lead United Nations agency on health, how effectively WHO can continue to advocate for the role of health in achieving the broader SDGs will shape the global health landscape. GHTC has been tracking progress on the SDG monitoring framework and proposed specific indicators to measure global health R&D in our report, “ Measuring Global Health R&D for the Post-2015 Development Agenda.” GHTC also produced a factsheet and a webinar on innovation in the SDGs. Agenda item #8 – Preparedness, surveillance and response – Wednesday, January 27 8.5 – Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance – Update to the Board Following on two previous World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions on antimicrobial resistance, the Secretariat will propose either a summit at the opening of the 2016 General Assembly or a high-level side event on the margins of the same. Given the dramatic rise in antimicrobial resistance globally, WHO hopes to use this high-level event to mobilize global support and resources both to develop new antibiotics and to ensure that current drugs are used appropriately. Agenda item #9 – Communicable diseases – Tuesday, January 26 9.1 – 2014 Ebola virus disease outbreak and issues raised: follow-up to the Special Session of the Executive Board on the Ebola Emergency (resolution EBSS3.R1) and the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly (decision WHA68(10)) Unfortunately the text of this report is not yet available, stay tuned for our post-EB blog and more information! Agenda item #10 – Health systems – Thursday, January 28 10.2 – Comprehensive evaluation of the global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property: progress update – Update to the Board The 2015 WHA directed the WHO Director-General to undertake an evaluation of the global strategy and plan of action on health, innovation, and intellectual property. The Secretariat will present a report outlining the work conducted so far, as well as an addendum containing key points from the evaluation inception report, including the principles that will be used in developing the full evaluation plan and design. 10.3 – Follow-up to the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination – Planning for an open-ended meeting of Member States to discuss progress – Board Decision This report and decision point are two key items on the EB agenda. The CEWG on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination process continues moving forward and faces some key decisions in the coming months. At the meeting, the EB will decide if civil society will be able to participate consultative open-ended meetings scheduled for March, which will determine what resolution is put forward to the WHA. GHTC is a strong advocate for civil society’s inclusion in the process. 10.4 – Substandard/spurious/falsely-labelled/falsified/counterfeit medical products – Update to the Board The Director-General of the WHO was directed to convene a series of expert consultations on possible methods to counteract substandard as well as falsified medical products by a 2012 WHA resolution. To that end, a number of expert committees have met and produced the priority recommendation of creating a global network of focal points to tackle issues in the quality of the drug supply. These focal points would then be responsible for linking existing quality-assurance networks to a global one to ensure collaboration. Although there is no decision point in the document, work on this issue clearly continues apace. While GHTC will follow these agenda items closely, we will also keep an eye out for other late-breaking resolutions or developments and will post a follow-up blog after the EB with updates on the actual happenings! Matt Robinson in GHTC's Policy & Advocacy Officer.    

Last week, an oral cholera vaccine receivedWorld Health Organization (WHO) prequalification, a process of regulatory review which paves the way for procurement by United Nations agencies and international organizations. Up to 4.3 million cases and 142,000 deaths from cholera are reported annually, primarily in low- and middle-income countries, and the vaccine—Euvichol®—is 65 percent effective against the bacteria. Euvichol® was developed by GHTC member the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), and has been licensed to the Korean company Eubiologics, which plans to produce 6 million doses in 2016. The vaccine is a reformulated version of Shanchol™, which is licensed to Shantha Biotechnics in India, and was prequalified in 2011. According to the WHO, prequalification of Euvichol® could double the global supply of cholera vaccines. Euvichol® produced by EuBiologics. Photo: IVI Scientists have identified three compounds that could serve as the basis for a vaccine against onchocerciasis (river blindness). More than 17 million people globally are affected by river blindness, 70 percent of whom experience skin conditions, including itching and lesions, and 10 percent of whom develop eye conditions, leading to visual impairment. Without a vaccine, river blindness control programs use the antiparasitic drug ivermectin to treat the disease, however, ivermectin is not recommended for use in children under five. Additionally, in Central and Western Africa, where coinfection with Loa loa worms is common, use of ivermectin can lead to fatal brain inflammation. The team hopes to initiate safety and efficacy trials for a potential vaccine candidate by 2020 and 2025, respectively. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is launching an “e-marketplace” through which global health product procurers (i.e., governments and nongovernmental organizations) can purchase everything from drugs and diagnostics to condoms and cars. The e-marketplace will be an online platform utilizing the Global Fund’s pooled procurement mechanisms. Through this mechanism, the Global Fund negotiates with manufacturers and purchases large quantities of global health commodities; governments and other organizations are then able to purchase products directly from the Global Fund, reducing product and transaction costs. This approach also improves demand forecasting and ensures a sustainable supply of products. The launch of the e-marketplace will be phased: while in the first quarter of 2016, only bednets will be available, artemisinin combination malaria medicines, malaria and HIV and AIDS diagnostics, and antiretrovirals will be available by the end of the year. The e-marketplace will initially be limited to Global Fund grant recipients, and 10 to 20 countries are expected to utilize the platform in 2016. The Global Fund hopes to open the e-marketplace to more buyers in the future and eventually offer products that are not part of Global Fund agreements, enabling procurers to independently compare quotes from different manufacturers.

On January 1, the countdown to 2030 officially began with the implementation of the new global development goals. To mark this occasion, GHTC launched a four-part video series exploring the role of global health innovation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The series features interviews with global health thought leaders, advocates, researchers, product developers, and policymakers filmed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. As 2016 ushers in a new era of development, strong and sustained investment in research and development (R&D) for new vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, devices, and other health technologies are key to tackling the world’s most pressing health challenges and accelerating progress toward ending poverty and achieving the global goals. Why is health R&D critical to achieving the SDGs? This video explores why R&D for new health technologies is key to tackling the world’s most pressing health issues.   What can we do to accelerate health innovation to reach SDGs? GHTC asks experts how health R&D can be accelerated to achieve the SDGs. What innovations have the greatest potential to transform global health? GHTC ask experts to reflect on what next-generation health technologies they believe will drive dramatic improvements in global health. Why does global health innovation matter to you personally? GHTC asks experts about why they care personally about health R&D.