Hannah Sachs-Wetstone

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. Excision BioTherapeutics is investigating whether a single Crispr infusion can effectively keep HIV at undetectable levels in the body. If effective, this innovation could eliminate the need for daily antiretroviral therapy. The Crispr therapy attempts to disrupt the replication process by targeting regions in the HIV genome that are critical in that process. While antiretroviral drugs can stop the virus from replicating, the Crispr therapy is designed to go further by ensuring that the virus cannot reactivate in the future. The trial aims to enroll nine participants and compare the efficacy of three different dosages. The Medicines Patent Pool has signed a voluntary licensing agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi, to allow low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) rapid access to its COVID-19 antiviral treatment pill, contingent on its regulatory approval. Under the agreement, the Medicines Patent Pool will grant sub-licenses to qualified generic manufacturers to produce the antiviral (ensitrelvir fumaric acid) in 117 LMICs. The candidate, which showed promising results in phase 2/3 trials, could make a significant difference in low-and middle-income countries with low vaccination rates.The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has granted a multi-year contract to Vir Biotechnology with US$55 million in funding to support its influenza-focused antibody drug that is expected to continue trials soon. The contract also allows for a potential billion-dollar investment for the development of candidates against emerging infectious diseases, including influenza. The funding is aimed at improving pandemic preparedness efforts through investments in technologies that target pathogens with pandemic potential.

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. The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a clinical trial of one or possibly two experimental vaccines designed to protect against the rare Sudan strain of the Ebola virus that has been identified in the recent, rapid outbreak in Uganda. The trial could begin within weeks depending on the Ugandan government’s permission, which is expected soon, as well as regulatory and ethics review approvals. The trial was announced by the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, which has been conferring to identify vaccines that are far enough along in their development to undergo clinical testing. There are six vaccine candidates in development that are designed to target the Sudan strain, only half of which have advanced to the stage of human clinical trials. Of those, a candidate developed by the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is the furthest along in its development. Dengue resurged across Asia following a period of lower transmission due to reduced mobility because of COVID-19 restrictions, but an exciting vaccine has the potential to make huge strides in reducing the burden of the disease not only in the region but around the world. In August, Indonesia became the first country in the world to approve Takeda’s Qdenga, or TAK-003, vaccine for use against dengue in 6- to 45-year-olds. Qdenga showed incredibly promising results in clinical trials and is under review by the European Medicines Agency and other regulatory agencies in dengue-endemic countries, although it is yet to receive WHO prequalification. The vaccine addresses the complexity of dengue’s four strains by using a weakened version of the DENV 2 strain as its base and including genes from the other three strains.In 2020, a clinical trial in South Africa testing PrEP as a shot delivered every few months found incredible success with results showing high efficacy compared to the daily pill. The drug used in the trial (long-acting cabotegravir or Cab-LA) made by ViiV Healthcare has only been awarded regulatory approval in the United States to date. Access to the shot in low- and middle-income countries has been hampered by the company’s decision to not grant licenses for generic makers to produce the drug at a lower cost. The company has made an agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool that permits three or fewer companies to make generic versions of the drug in 90 low- and middle-income countries, but it could take at least three years for regulatory approval. Viiv Healthcare has submitted its drug for WHO prequalification, which could speed up this approval process. 

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. In a new report, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) analyzed the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) policies during the COVID-19 pandemic response and made recommendations for improving responses to future health emergencies. The report recognized several strong practices including the creation of templates for emergency use authorization (EUA) submissions and communication forums for the agency and developers. However, continual policy shifts and the decision to ease EUA requirements, possibly leading to the authorization of substandard assays, to increase the availability of COVID-19 tests were among the challenges identified. The report’s six recommendations include a revised device-tracking platform to facilitate the EUA submission process, formal communication channels with the lab community, and a national testing strategy.The messenger RNA (mRNA) hub, established last year in South Africa with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), began development of an mRNA vaccine for tuberculosis. The hub’s objective is to develop inoculations to address high-burden diseases in low- and middle-income countries. It is also working on developing a local mRNA vaccine candidate for COVID-19 (which will enter human trials in the coming months) after low- and middle-income countries faced major challenges accessing COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic. The first approved mRNA vaccines were developed for the COVID-19 pandemic, but the technology has potential to accelerate vaccine development for other diseases as well, including tuberculosis.Last week, the government of Uganda declared an outbreak of a relatively rare strain of Ebola. The Sudan strain has not been reported globally in a decade and there is no approved vaccine to use against it. The rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, or Ervebo, is currently used across Africa to limit the spread of Ebola outbreaks but it is only approved for the Zaire strain, which is responsible for the majority of outbreaks. However, WHO has pointed to a different Johnson & Johnson vaccine that has potential in targeting the Sudan strain, which could be confirmed through testing.

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.President Biden signed an executive order establishing a new national biomanufacturing initiative and pledging more than US$2 billion to fund building or expanding drug manufacturing facilities and ensuring an adequate supply of raw materials. The Biden administration’s goal is to strengthen the biotech supply chain and maintain US competitiveness with foreign manufacturers in the wake of major supply chain challenges and shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. $40 million of the pledge will go toward expanding the production of antibiotics and the base materials needed to produce products for future pandemic responses.A new study looking at antimicrobial resistance (AMR) records from laboratories in 14 African countries found that the basic requirements for testing for drug-resistant pathogens are unmet in most areas despite plans to tackle antimicrobial resistance on the continent. The researchers found that only 1.3 percent of the 50,000 medical laboratories included in the study were conducting bacteriology testing. Of those laboratories that were, even fewer were equipped to test for AMR and among those who were testing for AMR, only a third of the high-priority antibiotic-resistant pathogens designated by the World Health Organizations were being tested consistently. The study highlights larger challenges in Africa including limited access to antibiotics, imperfect use of antibiotics, and a lack of information about the impact of AMR because of incomplete and fragmented data.The smallpox treatment tecovirimat, or TPOXX, is undergoing a phase 3 clinical trial to test efficacy in treating monkeypox after preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed some alleviation of symptoms in patients. The trial is being run by the AIDS Clinical Trial Group in locations nationwide and will enroll more than 500 people who test positive for monkeypox. The intent is to provide stronger data that federal officials and agencies can use to inform decisions about the use of TPOXX in the national response to monkeypox.

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.A University of Oxford research team published promising results for a new malaria vaccine, R21. The trial, conducted among 409 children in Burkina Faso, found that an initial three doses followed by a booster after one year showed up to 80 percent efficacy in preventing malaria. The developers say the vaccine can be produced for just a few dollars and that they expect the vaccine to be rolled out next year through a manufacturing deal for more than 100 million doses a year with the Serum Institute of India. The rollout of the vaccine will follow an approval process that hinges on the results from a larger trial, which will be published in the coming months. Both India and China have approved needle-free COVID-19 vaccines­—nasal and inhaled versions, respectively. The nasal version, licensed to Bharat Biotech, was developed by scientists at Washington University in St. Louis. CanSino Biologics has developed the inhaled version, which is a version of their own injected vaccine. Both vaccines use harmless cold viruses although the developers of the nasal version are seeking approval to use the vaccine as a regular and booster dose whereas the inhaled version was only tested as a booster. It is unclear when either vaccine will be available for distribution. These needle-free vaccines are just two of more than ten candidates being studied, as scientists are pursuing needle-free vaccines as a potential strategy to improve protection and make vaccines easier to administer, particularly in low-income countries.A new study published in the journal Radiology looked at Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) model for automating tuberculosis (TB) detection compared to radiologists identifying TB on chest X-rays. The model uses AI to analyze X-ray images to determine which patients should receive follow-up confirmatory molecular testing that is expensive and time-consuming. The AI model could address physician shortages as well as improve TB outcomes and lower costs. While the study revealed promising results across large and diverse patient populations, the model needs to be further tested in real world environments with populations that are older and have more atypical presentations of the disease or other lung abnormalities. A study in a Zambian clinic, which will be finished in the coming months will provide further insight into the potential of the model. 

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.Experts are increasingly concerned about connections between Paxlovid, Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral drug, and COVID rebound in patients who complete the five-day regimen, especially as Paxlovid use has grown dramatically in recent months. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked Pfizer to investigate whether a second course will prevent rebound. A large study previously showed that Paxlovid significantly reduced hospitalizations and deaths in those 65 years and older, but uncertainty remains over the drug’s effectiveness in younger people as well as the link between the drug and COVID rebound. Rebound has also been observed in people who have not taken Paxlovid as well.A new study investigating the effectiveness of the BPaL drug regimen (a combination of bedaquiline, pretomanid, and linezolid) with linezolid at lower doses found that the treatment was still highly effective in patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) and the number of patients who experienced side effects related to linezolid dropped significantly. BPaL was approved by the FDA in 2019. Although studies showed the drug to be highly effective in drug-resistant TB patients, there was also a high rate of side effects found to be linked to linezolid. The new study, supported by TB Alliance, published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that the dosage of linezolid can be halved while maintaining similar efficacy, making the six-month regimen easier and more tolerable for patients.On Wednesday, August 31, the FDA gave emergency use authorizations to Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s Omicron-updated COVID-19 booster shots to be used as single-dose inoculations at least two months after the first booster vaccination. Both vaccines are aimed at targeting both the original COVID-19 and B.A.4 and B.A.4 Omicron subvariants. Whereas Moderna’s booster is approved for all adults 18 years and older, the Pfizer-BioNTech booster is approved for all people 12 years and older. The CDC endorsed the vaccines on Thursday, clearing the way for a quick rollout in the coming weeks.