Kim Lufkin

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins warns that sequestration and budget cuts may be putting gains in science, technology and medicine at risk. In related news, sequestration cuts have reduced federal grants and delayed research projects, restricting the nation’s ability to innovate, according to a survey of organizations representing 300 research universities. On the fifth annual World Pneumonia Day, a call to action in The Lancet Global Health asks for new innovations to transform pneumonia diagnosis and treatment. From December 3 to 5, the World Health Organization and Member States will evaluate and assess new innovative mechanisms to coordinate and fund global health research and development. GHTC member the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund has granted $5.7 million to six global partnerships working on innovative drugs and vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis, and Chagas disease.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. The World Medical Association has adopted and published a revised version of the Declaration of Helsinki, which sets standards regarding medical research involving human subjects. The changes reflect a call to increase protection for people taking part in medical research. GHTC member Aeras and the Statens Serum Institut have initiated a new clinical studyfor a candidate tuberculosis (TB) vaccine. In related news, GHTC member the Global Health Innovation and Technology (GHIT) Fund announced that it will invest $720,000 for early work on a novel vaccine candidate against TB being co-developed by Japan’s Create Vaccine Co., Ltd. and Aeras. The Kaiser Family Foundation released a new public opinion survey on the US role in global health. The survey finds that Americans’ basic level of support for current levels of US spending on efforts to improve health for people in developing countries has held relatively steady in recent years. GHTC member the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has released its 2012 annual progress report, which details IAVI’s progress, accomplishments, and key partnerships over the past year. The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently confirmed that sequestration has drained about $85 million in user fees from the US Food and Drug Administration. The cuts are expected to continue, according to an OMB response to Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), which she released this week. GHTC member TB Alliance has entered into a collaboration with Svizera Europe, one of the leading global supply and distribution companies for TB treatments. The partnership aims to create and enable access to new medicines for childhood TB.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. The GHTC this week released a new fact sheet on the US Agency for International Development and its longstanding support for global health product development. Despite the recent federal budget deal that re-opened the government, the “worst may not be over for US researchers,” Nature reports. Researchers “face the possibility of another government shutdown in mid-January, when the deeply divided US Congress must agree on a new plan to fund government operations.” For the first time, an oral cholera vaccine has shown sustained protection for five years against the disease. GHTC member Aeras has released its 2012 annual report, which highlights progress made toward developing safe and effective vaccines against tuberculosis. A new study in The Lancet Global Health provides an in-depth assessment of the drug and vaccine landscape for neglected diseases between 2000 and 2011. Health ministers of countries represented in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have agreed to appoint Indonesia as the “center of excellence” in developing vaccines that would be supplied to OIC member states. A new Q&A with Renate Baehr—executive director of the German organization Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung—highlights the importance of public-private partnerships for global health.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. Now that the federal government shutdown has ended, scientists nationwide are returning to work. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation can resume processing grant applications that have been piling up during the 16-day shutdown and accepting new applications. Additionally, biomedical scientists will be able to enroll patients in trials and studies at NIH’s clinical research center. The European Medicines Agency recently launched an updated version of its European Clinical Trials Database, which will feed into the agency’s goal of making summaries of clinical trial data publically available. Increased access to clinical trial data could benefit research to develop drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and other health tools—including those for diseases endemic in low- and middle-income countries. A new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases shows that, for the first time, an oral cholera vaccine provides sustained protection against the disease in humans for up to five years. During the government shutdown, the US Food and Drug Administration reported significant delays in reviews and approvals for new drugs and medical products. A new opinion piece examines efforts to develop a safe and effective HIV and AIDS vaccine following the recent AIDS Vaccine 2013 conference in Spain.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. Results of a large-scale Phase III clinical trial of the most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate—R TS,S—showed that the vaccine candidate continues to protect young children and infants from clinical malaria up to 18 months after vaccination. A new analysis of two HIV vaccine trials shows that the investigational vaccines stimulated a critical immune response in infants born to HIV-positive mothers, researchers reported at the AIDS Vaccine 2013 conference in Spain. Janet Woodcock—head of the US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research—is retiring in more than a year, but the drug industry is already worrying about who will replace her. The New York Times reports that the federal government has continued to enroll ill people in clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health since the government shutdown began, but the pace has slowed dramatically. PATH and China National Biotec Group Co., Ltd., recently announced that a new Japanese encephalitis vaccine has been prequalified by the World Health Organization, paving the way for expanded access to millions of children in Asia at risk of this disease.

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week. The government shutdown is affecting health research and clinical care at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH—the biggest source of funding for medical research in the world—supports researchers and clinicians across the nation, meaning that universities and hospitals across the country are grappling with what the NIH shutdown might do to their work. Researchers from around the world will convene to discuss the latest advances and obstacles in the search for an HIV and AIDS vaccine next week at the AIDS Vaccine 2013 conference. In related news, scientists from the University of Cambridge have discovered that a mutant form of an immune protein can block infection and spread of HIV in immune cells. Their findings could lead to new ways of treating HIV by offering a new target for drug developers. Researchers at McMaster University in Canada have developed a new vaccine that could fight tuberculosis. The vaccine—developed from a genetically modified cold virus—would act as a booster to the currently used vaccine against the disease. The Washington Post provides a look at how agencies across the federal government —such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the State Department—are dealing with the shutdown.