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.Last week, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel recommended approval of two vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for adults 60 and older, one by Pfizer and one by GlaxoSmithKline. The agency could grant formal approval to the vaccines in the coming months, making them the first shots available against RSV, a disease responsible for significant deaths and hospitalizations among older adults and young children. Other vaccines, as well as monoclonal antibody treatments, also in the pipeline could additionally address the yearly burden of RSV.The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning about a rise in extensively drug-resistant cases of Shigella, especially in gay and bisexual men, in the United States and other countries. Shigella is a highly infectious bacterial infection that causes an inflammatory diarrheal condition and is spread when infected fecal matter enters the mouth or nose. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control also released an alert about possible cases among recent travelers. Doctors have faced major challenges in identifying viable alternative antibiotics to treat these cases, underlining the need for greater focus on the research and development of new antibiotics.This year’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections saw a myriad of presentations on how best to expand global access to the cabotegravir, or CAB-LA, which is a long acting, injectable form of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) used to prevent HIV infection. CAB-LA joins oral PrEP and the recently approved dapivirine vaginal ring as a third safe and effective biomedical HIV prevention option, for the first time allowing people an authentic choice among products. However, to ensure access and availability of these products, there remains a need for additional research on the use of CAB-LA in certain patient populations, including among people who inject drugs, and further research on effective delivery methods to expand uptake of oral PrEP.

GHTC applauds USAID's continued prioritization of global health innovation through new BAA GHTC welcomes the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID’S) release of a broad agency announcement (BAA) seeking proposals to develop novel tools and approaches to advance global health. We are pleased to see the agency's continued commitment to health research and development (R&D) and its interest in working with partners in low- and middle-income countries. For decades, USAID has invested in R&D for new vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and other tools as part of its mission to advance global health. Unfortunately, in recent years, USAID investments in R&D have not kept pace with total global health spending—a trend that limits the agency’s ability to deliver the tools needed to defeat both long-standing and emerging health challenges. We hope this BAA will increase total funding for R&D efforts and fulfill the congressional directive in the fiscal year 2023 omnibus package that USAID increase its investments in global health R&D over the prior year.  The opportunity presented by this BAA aligns with GHTC’s nonpartisan policy analysis recommending that a dedicated R&D funding line be created for USAID with no less than US$250 million in additive funding. Such an influx of new research funding would supercharge USAID’s innovation capacity, help close the biggest gaps in our global health toolbox, and save more lives more quickly. 

GHTC endorsed and provided input to Representative Mike Levin's office for the Saving Us from Pandemic Era Resistance by Building a Unified Global Strategy (SUPER BUGS) Act. The press release includes a quite from Jamie Bay Nishi, GHTC executive director.