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The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) and Policy Cures recently called on the US Government to fund all stages of research—from early, basic research stages to later stage clinical trials—to create global health tools such as vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, microbicides, and devices. In a letter-to-the-editor in BMJ, the two nonprofits stress that all stages of research are critical for global health product development. GHTC and Policy Cures also emphasize that while the US Government currently provides most of its support to basic, discovery, and preclinical research, the US should also increase its funding for the final stages of product development, which are often the most expensive and in need of support. “This current system is unsustainable as more and more products move into these expensive, later-stage clinical trials. Given that there is now the largest pipeline of new global health products in history, with a total of 365 products under development, this scenario is very likely in the near future,” the letter reads. Many important global health products have been produced thanks to US Government support—and a very critical part of the development cycle is basic research, which has helped produce successful candidates that now need support in clinical trials. The US government can help push the next generation of lifesaving products into completion by supporting all stages of global health product development. To read the entire BMJ letter, click here. To read the GHTC and Policy Cures report, click here.  

Late last week, the House Appropriations Committee debated and approved Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 appropriations legislation for the State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) account, which includes funding levels for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The bill that the SFOPs subcommittee previously approved—which we discussed here—went largely unchanged in the full appropriations committee vote. As we covered last week, global health funding under USAID was restored to FY 2012 levels for most accounts. However, USAID’s family planning and reproductive health efforts were capped at 25 percent below the FY 2012 level, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was completely de-funded. Three separate efforts during the appropriations committee markup on Thursday to restore some funds to UNFPA failed. These cuts have been criticized by many in the global health community and on the Hill as harmful, short-sighted, and life-threatening to women worldwide. During the hearing, there were no amendments related to global health research and development (R&D) programs, although language in the report that accompanies the House bill highlights the need for research into health technologies appropriate for low-resource settings. Additional language in the accompanying report promotes R&D for microbicides, and HIV and malaria vaccines, among other health tools. The Senate will weigh in with its own (and likely very different) version of this legislation tomorrow, May 22nd. We hope that the Senate also recognizes the importance of USAID’s R&D efforts, and that it restores the agency’s family planning and reproductive health work. Congressional support for all areas of USAID’s global health programming—from R&D to women’s health—is critical to improve the health and well-being of people around the world.

Margaret McGlynn is the president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). In this guest post to mark HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, she writes about the potential impact of a safe and effective HIV vaccine around the world. The post originally appeared on the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Impact blog. Throughout my career, I have witnessed the tremendous power of vaccines to prevent sickness and save lives—delivering incredible victories for humanity against diseases such as polio, smallpox, and measles. These vaccines would not have been possible without the inspiration, persistence, and courage of researchers, volunteers, and health workers around the world. And so today, on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, I join countless others around the world in reflecting on what it would mean to see AIDS consigned to a list of former pandemics. To achieve that goal, it is essential that we enlist the participation of researchers around the world in the design and development of HIV vaccines. Young researchers such as Gladys Njeri Macharia in Kenya—who has dedicated her career to exploring immune responses to HIV—will play an especially important role in that effort. And one day, critical scientific questions addressed by this research might help lead to an effective vaccine. Thanks to a USAID-supported program, Gladys Njeri Macharia is studying how rare individuals might be blocking HIV infection. Photo credit: IAVI New modeling data available today from IAVI and the Futures Institute, with support from USAID, illustrates how a safe, preventive HIV vaccine that is accessible and affordable can help us end the AIDS pandemic. This information is available in a series of publications and an interactive web tool. The potential impact of a vaccine is striking. Because HIV is so extraordinarily resistant to the immune response, it is highly unlikely that any single vaccine will be able to prevent infection by all variants of the virus. Still, our modeling shows that if an AIDS vaccine that is only 50 percent effective is introduced in 2020 to 30 percent of the population in low- and middle-income countries, 5.2 million new HIV infections could be averted over the first decade. Higher efficacy and more coverage would have an even greater impact on the pandemic. The world must continue to scale up and improve the response to HIV by using powerful prevention tools that are currently at our disposal. These include condoms, treatment, and voluntary medical male circumcision. Our new models show that a vaccine can build on these existing tools and take us down the last mile to the end of the AIDS pandemic. A 50 percent effective vaccine combined with greater use of current HIV-prevention tools could prevent nearly 20 million new HIV infections by 2030—20 million people that would not need to face the physical, emotional, and social hardships caused by the disease and could avoid lifelong, daily antiretroviral treatment to stave off AIDS-related illness or death. This HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, IAVI and our partners remember those we have lost to AIDS, gain inspiration from those living with and combating the disease today, and look forward to building on the incredible momentum of recent discoveries and study results to deliver on the tremendous potential of an AIDS vaccine. To access IAVI and the Futures Institute’s impact modeling publications and interactive modeling tool, visit www.iavi.org/