Kari Stoever

In this guest post, Kari Stoever, vice president of External Affairs at Aeras, writes about how mine workers are disproportionately affected by tuberculosis (TB) and why there’s an urgent need for new tools against this deadly disease. Deep underground, in cramped quarters, with silica dust floating through the air, the hacking cough of a miner with TB is a familiar sound. Mine workers in sub-Saharan Africahave the highest rates of TB in the world, with wide spread consequences in communities throughout the region. It is estimated that mining is responsible for as much as 760,000 new cases of TB each year, making it the single biggest driver of the TB epidemic after HIV. Not only does TB contribute to the dangers of mine work, but it also decreases economic viability. Each year, the mining industry loses around $570 million in productivity costs, and miners lose $320 million per year in lost wages, due to TB. Photo credit: David Rockhkind/Aeras Fifteen South African nations, known as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), have pledged to confront the TB epidemic in the mines through investing in treatment and control programs. While these efforts are to be commended, the ultimate solution is to invest in new vaccines to prevent TB. Recently published study results in the New England Journal of Medicine found that when South African miners were given universal isoniazid preventive therapy—intended to prevent the progression of latent TB to active disease—there was no lasting effect on TB incidence among mineworkers. Because rates of TB are so high in this community, significantly reducing the spread of TB will only be possible with transformative new technologies to effectively halt transmission. What needs to happen for the mining industry to support research and development (R&D) for new TB vaccines? Governments must unlock resources for TB R&D. Health experts must educate policymakers about the need for new tools—such as vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Mining industry decision-makers must partner with research organizations to advance TB R&D to protect their workforce and to improve productivity and reduce operating costs. Supporting R&D for new tools to diagnose, treat, and prevent tuberculosis will be an integral part of making southern African mines safer. This week, Aeras is at Investing in African Mining Indaba, the world’s largest mining investment event, to discuss potential ways to partner with governments and mining industry officials to address the TB threat. View the slideshow and check out the info graphic to learn more about the deadly combination of tuberculosis and mining, and join us in spreading the word and advocating for new TB vaccines to protect mineworkers.

In this guest post, Kari Stoever—vice president of External Affairs at Aeras—writes about European support for new vaccines against tuberculosis (TB). TB is a disease most often associated with countries in the developing world, particularly in Asia and Africa. While India and China had the largest number of cases in 2012, Europe is not immune. Europe accounts for almost 18 percent of global cases of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB, with the highest burden in Eastern Europe. TB is estimated to cost the European Union around €6 billion (US$8 billion) each year. New vaccines to prevent TB will be the most cost-effective and long-term approach to saving lives and money, so it makes sense that Europe leads the world in the research and development (R&D) of TB vaccines. Europe is a major contributor to the development of vaccines globally, with as much as 75 percent of the global TB vaccine portfolio either originating in Europe or being developed in partnership with European public or private organizations. Of the five major donors contributing to TB vaccine R&D, three of them are European. Since 2000, the European Commission (EC) has invested more than €34 million (over US$46 million) in research for new TB vaccines. Along with European Union Member States, the EC has also invested more than €42 million towards clinical trial site preparedness, capacity building, and support in Africa through the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). Recently the EC announced a €25 million (approximately US$34 million) call for proposals to accelerate the development of new TB vaccines. Europe is a major contributor to the development of vaccines globally, with as much as 75 percent of the global TB vaccine portfolio either originating in Europe or being developed in partnership with European public or private organizations. Credit: PATH. The announcement comes as an important new collaboration between European funders and a global network of researchers is forming. The new initiative, the Global TB Vaccine Partnership (GTBVP), aims to channel finances to TB vaccine R&D to establish a robust and diversified global portfolio of clinical and preclinical candidates. One of the top priorities for the GTBVP will be to strengthen and diversify the preclinical and clinical portfolio to facilitate a more rational, cost-effective, and accelerated vaccine development process through the sharing of technical, financial, and market risks. The GTBVP’s role will be to foster greater alignment among researchers and funders’ objectives, and implement an effective mechanism for collaboration, information-sharing, and decision-making. Aeras, the Netherlands-based TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), the EC, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the EDCTP are spearheading the development of the GTBVP. The evolution of the collaboration The push for a new financing mechanism and governance structure began in March 2012 when the EC, with support of the EIB, expanded its engagement with TBVI and Aeras to develop a Business Case for Investment. The document provides evidence of a viable market incentive for new TB vaccines, opening the door for more expensive later stage trials to be financed through cost-sharing arrangements with industry and the use of other risk-sharing financial instruments. Public sector grant funding for early stage research would act as a catalyst for this private sector investment, providing significant leverage to donors. By working with researchers around the world, it is envisioned that the GTBVP will play a crucial role in ensuring that research into life-saving TB vaccines continues to progress in the most efficient way possible. Europe’s leadership has been critical to the formation of the partnership, and the EC is to be commended for its excellent commitment to much-needed health interventions, especially a vaccine that would drastically reduce the number of TB cases. TB is a global threat requiring global action, and through the new partnership there is a historic opportunity for donors, disease-endemic countries, researchers, and other stakeholders to work together and achieve the goal of having new, more effective TB vaccines available globally.

In this guest post, Kari Stoever, vice president of External Affairs at Aeras, writes about a new film series that tells the story of the tuberculosis (TB) pandemic. TB kills 1.4 million people each year. Nearly 9 million people become sick with the disease annually. Controlling the global epidemic is anticipated to cost upwards of $24 billion through 2015 in low- and middle-income countries alone. If you’re like most people, this is where you start to tune out. While these numbers are staggering and should worry those of us who live in an interconnected world where contagious, airborne and deadly diseases thrive, most people remain unfazed by such statistics. We’re immune to the millions and billions. But by putting a face on these huge numbers—a story about a real person whom we can relate to—we can reach beyond the confusion and sterility of abstract statistics and motivate people to pay attention and act. Deborah Small, a Wharton marketing professor who has done groundbreaking research on how statistics can suppress giving, claims that it is far better to appeal to the heart than to the head. Feelings, not analytical thinking, drive donations. But how do we create a story that sticks and, hopefully, goes viral? In order for stories to grab a reader’s attention, they must be brief, relevant, and meaningful. They must have the element of surprise. And they must have enough power to make them worth repeating. Aeras produced a four-part film series called EXPOSED: The Race Against Tuberculosis. The series tells the stories of four different people whose lives have been affected by TB. Credit: Aeras. When I first joined Aeras, a global nonprofit biotech advancing TB vaccines, more than a year ago, I remember reading the comprehensive, high-quality report published by the World Health Organization on the status of the TB epidemic. Being a global health geek, I found the statistics astounding and frightening. I couldn’t imagine why so many people outside the global health space thought TB was a disease of the past or that we could be vaccinated and protected from it. These misconceptions inspired me and my team at Aeras to tell the untold story of TB. We decided to capture the stories of individuals who have been impacted by this disease and the front-line heroes working day in and day out to find better solutions to this increasingly challenging epidemic. With gifted filmmaker Mo Scarpelli, we produced a four-part film series called EXPOSED: The Race Against Tuberculosis. The series tells the stories of four different people whose lives have been affected by TB: A young American traveler who contracted multidrug-resistant TB while doing mission work in Africa. A physician in India who does his best to treat people with limited tools. A South African mother who enrolled in a clinical trial to help scientists someday find a vaccine to protect her children from TB. A researcher who dedicated 15 years of her life to finding a new, effective TB vaccine. With this film, we are trying to convey the urgent need for new TB vaccines. We’re doing it by showing how this epidemic is affecting people across all continents and all socioeconomic groups, from the patients and their families who must endure the disease and its onerous and outdated treatment, to the doctors and researchers who valiantly give their time and talent to alleviate the impact of this deadly epidemic. While scientists around the world are working to develop vaccines to protect our families, communities, and countries from this ancient scourge, we also need support from political leaders and the public. Our hope is that this film series educates, inspires, and motivates people to act—to galvanize organizations and governments across the world to make a greater investment in research and development for new vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. As a global community, we should have righteous indignation that we have allowed this epidemic to come back with a vengeance. Without adequate protection through vaccination, we remain exposed. EXPOSED is a four-part series of short films that tells the story of the deadly global epidemic of TB. The series focuses on current efforts to halt this airborne disease, which is growing more difficult to address, as well as the urgent movement to develop new tools to prevent it. By telling the stories of four inspiring individuals, interspersed with expert commentary from some of the world’s top TB physicians, scientists, advocates, and policymakers, EXPOSED brings viewers to the forefront of the race against TB. We need your help to spread the word. Watch and share at www.aeras.org/exposed . For more information or to organize a screening, email film@aeras.org.