Announcements

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.alleninstitute.org/news-press/
No new digest content identified. 

 

BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
No new digest content identified.

 

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.gatesmri.org/
The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is a non-profit biotech organization. Our mission is to develop products to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases—three major causes of mortality, poverty, and inequality in developing countries. The world has unprecedented scientific tools at its disposal; now is the time to use them to save the lives of the world’s poorest people
No new digest content identified.

 

CARB-X [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://carb-x.org/
CARB-X is a non-profit public-private partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research to tackle the global rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.
No new digest content identified.

 

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://cepi.net/
No new digest content identified.

 

Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://clintonhealthaccess.org/about/
Published April 25th, 2019
Improving malaria diagnosis and treatment in the private sector
…CHAI is working with partners to increase access to effective malaria diagnostics and treatments to save lives and drive down malaria transmission. CHAI is helping governments increase the availability and usage of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs)— the recommended first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria— in all of the locations that patients seek treatment for malaria, including private sector outlets…

 

EDCTP [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.edctp.org/
The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on phase II and III clinical trials
Latest news
25 April 2019
EDCTP malaria portfolio: large investments in treatment and vaccine
The World Malaria Report 2018 states that after an unprecedented period of success in global malaria control, progress has stalled. Data from 2015–2017 show no significant progress in reducing global malaria cases. In 2017 there were still an estimated 219 million cases and 435 000 related deaths in 2017. In addition to the existing control and elimination efforts, scaling up of malaria research and innovation is necessary, including developing new and improved drugs and regimens to address emerging drug resistance, as well as vaccines, diagnostics and vector control research & development (R&D). The fight against malaria requires combined and integrated approaches which necessitates a concerted effort of many partners…

 

Emory Vaccine Center [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
No new digest content identified.

 

European Medicines Agency [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News and press releases
News: Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 23-26 April 2019 CHMP, 26/04/2019
EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) recommended thirteen medicines for approval at its April 2019 meeting.

News: European Immunization Week 2019: statement by Executive Director Guido Rasi
24/04/2019

 

European Vaccine Initiative [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/news-events
Latest news
World Malaria Day 2019
25 April 2019
“Zero Malaria Starts with Me”

 

FDA [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
April 22, 2019
Statement from Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, on FDA’s continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine

 

Fondation Merieux [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
No new digest content identified.

 

Gavi [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.gavi.org/
Latest News
Ghana launches the world’s largest vaccine drone delivery network
24 April 2019
With support from Gavi, The UPS Foundation and other partners, Zipline drones will serve up to 2,000 health facilities and 12 million people in Ghana

Partnership welcomes launch of first malaria vaccine pilot
23 April 2019
Funding agencies hail important step for the world’s first malaria vaccine
[See Milestones above for detail]

 

GHIT Fund [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 2012 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that devastate the world’s poorest people. Other funders include six Japanese pharmaceutical
No new digest content identified.

 

Global Fund [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News
No new digest content identified.

 

Hilleman Laboratories [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.

 

Human Vaccines Project [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
No new digest content identified.

 

IAVI [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
No new digest content identified.

 

IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/library/news/press-releases/
26 April 2019
World Immunization Week highlights IFFIm’s game-changing innovations
Since 2006, IFFIm has contributed US$ 2.6 billion to Gavi’s immunisation programmes and had a catalytic effect on increasing uptake of underused vaccines in the poorest countries.

 

IFRC [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Africa, Comoros, Mozambique, Tanzania
Volunteers in Comoros, Mozambique and Tanzania prepare as Cyclone Kenneth forms
Nairobi/Geneva, 24 April 2019 – Teams of Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers are on alert as a Cyclone Kenneth makes its way to Comoros and potentially on to Tanzania and Mozambique. Red Cross volunteers in northern Mozambique are alerting communitie …

 

IVAC [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
No new digest content identified.

 

IVI [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.ivi.int/
IVI News & Announcements
No new digest content identified.

 

JEE Alliance [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.

 

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.msf.org/
Selected News; Project Updates, Reports [as presented on website]
Yemen
Mothers and children left to die in Yemen without access to medical care
Press Release24 April 2019
:: Pregnant women and sick children in Yemen are struggling to reach timely medical care, four years into the war.
:: Lack of health facilities, people having to negotiate frontlines and checkpoints, and lack of funds to afford alternatives main reasons.
:: We urge the warring parties to ensure the protection of civilians and health workers, and to allow the wounded and sick to access healthcare.

 

NIH [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
April 25, 2019
NIH statement on World Malaria Day 2019
— Statement of B.F. (Lee) Hall, M.D., Ph.D., and Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Eliminating malaria — one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases — remains a critically important public health and biomedical research challenge. Despite remarkable advances in reducing malaria incidence and deaths since 2000, recent progress has become stagnant and has even reversed in some regions. The World Health Organization (link is external) (WHO) estimates that in 2017 about 219 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and approximately 435,000 people died of the disease. Unfortunately, malaria cases increased from 2016 to 2017 in the 10 highest-burden countries in Africa, and the number of cases per 1,000 in populations at risk remained at 59 from 2015 to 2017.
Today, the National Institutes of Health recognizes World Malaria Day and commits to a reinvigorated malaria research program. This year’s World Malaria Day theme, “Zero malaria starts with me,” encourages governments, companies, academic institutions, philanthropies, and others to prioritize malaria, mobilize resources, and empower communities affected by malaria to lead and coordinate response activities. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, is working toward “zero malaria” with coordinated global research projects to better understand the disease, improve diagnostics, treatments, and mosquito control interventions, and develop safe and effective vaccines…

 

PATH [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
April 24, 2019 by PATH
New program in Myanmar translates policy into practice for sexual and reproductive health and rights
The new sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) STRONG+ project engages communities to discuss their rights and responsibilities and inform future policy change

PATH congratulates Malawi on introducing the first malaria vaccine for African children
Seattle, WA, April 23, 2019 – PATH welcomes the announcement today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Malawi Ministry of Health that the first children have received the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine through routine immunization in Malawi, marking the beginning of a pilot introduction of the vaccine. Malawi is the first of the three participating countries—the others being Ghana and Kenya—to begin vaccination…

PATH and MMV launch 5-year global initiative to support elimination of relapsing malaria
Geneva, Switzerland and Seattle, WA, USA, April 23, 2019 – PATH and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) announce a 5-year, jointly-led initiative, VivAccess, to support countries in the elimination of Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria. The initiative is part of the larger global effort to support malaria-endemic countries in the adoption and use of new and existing tools, to facilitate well-tolerated and effective radical cure to prevent relapse. VivAccess’s work is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation…

 

Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
No new digest content identified.

 

UNAIDS [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
24 April 2019
Keeping up the momentum in the global AIDS response

23 April 2019
Women lead to reduce the impact of HIV and gender-based violence in the Middle East and North Africa

 

UNICEF [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Statements, Press Releases, Reports
Press release
UNICEF expands network of drone testing corridors
25/04/2019

Press release
Nearly 15,000 cases of malaria reported in areas of Mozambique affected by Cyclone Idai – UNICEF
Concerns over increased caseload as world marks Malaria Day and second cyclone approaches
25/04/2019

Press release
Over 20 million children worldwide missed out on measles vaccine annually in past 8 years, creating a pathway to current global outbreaks – UNICEF
24/04/2019
[See Milestones above for detail]

 

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
No new digest content identified.

 

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
Published on Apr 10, 2019
Measles Outbreaks
In this video, Dr. Offit explains who may need measles vaccines during an outbreak. The accompanying article includes what you need to know about measles disease, the vaccine that helps to prevent it, and considerations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals during an outbreak.

 

Wellcome Trust [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
News | 25 April 2019
New data re-use prizes help unlock the value of research
The winners of our Wellcome Data Re-use Prizes have generated new insights in antimicrobial resistance and malaria research.

Opinion | 23 April 2019
We ignore the disaster in the antibiotics market at our peril
by Jeremy Farrar
There is no viable path for new drugs, however valuable they are to society.

 

The Wistar Institute [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Release
Apr. 23, 2019
Wistar Earns ‘Exceptional’ Rating for NCI Cancer Center Support Grant for the Second Review Cycle in a Row, Demonstrating Strength of Science
Wistar’s Cancer Center became the first National Cancer Institute-designated basic cancer center in the nation in 1972 and has held this national recognition for the past 46 years.

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/
No new digest content identified.

::::::

BIO [to 27 Apr 2019]
https://www.bio.org/insights/press-release
No new digest content identified.

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
April 8th 2019
First cell-culture based influenza vaccine received WHO Prequalification
Geneva, – SKYCellflu Multidose, the cell-culture based influenza vaccine, manufactured by SK bioscience, received World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification…SK bioscience has commercialized the world’s first cell-culture influenza vaccine for children and adolescents between the ages of 6 months to 18 years, as well as the world’s second for adults. The company obtained national marketing authorization in December 2014 for SKYCellflu prefilled syringe introduction in South Korea….

 

IFPMA [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
No new digest content identified.

 

PhRMA [to 27 Apr 2019]
http://www.phrma.org/press-room
Press Release
PhRMA Welcomes 2019 Special 301 Report
Applauds USTR for Focusing on Countries that Undermine Patents, American Manufacturing and Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 25, 2019) – The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) welcomed the 2019 Special 301 Report released today by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer. The report highlights serious market access and intellectual property (IP) barriers American innovators face in countries around the world, including in Canada, Chile, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and other markets.
“Biopharmaceutical innovators rely on predictable, transparent and fair intellectual property and market access systems around the world to continue developing new medicines and get those treatments to patients,” said Brian Toohey, senior vice president for International Advocacy, PhRMA. “We are pleased the Administration is shining a light on damaging practices abroad that undermine American innovation and limit local patient access to new medicines.”…

 

Industry Watch [to 27 Apr 2019]
:: GSK invests $100 million to expand long-term vaccine manufacturing capabilities in Hamilton, MT
Apr 24, 2019
:: Site expansion will boost vaccine production capacity
:: Creating new temporary construction and contracting jobs; and new permanent GSK positions