::::::
Organization Announcements
Editor’s Note:
Careful readers will note that the number and range of organizations now monitored in our Announcements section below has grown as the impacts of the pandemic have spread across global economies, supply chains and programmatic activity of multilateral agencies and INGOs.
Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/news-press/
News
No new digest content identified.
BARDA – U.S. Department of HHS [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.phe.gov/about/barda/Pages/default.aspx
News
No new digest content identified.
BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center
Press Releases and Statements
Press release
Sep 23, 2021
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Commits $922 Million to Advance Global Nutrition to Help Women and Children
Press release
Sep 20, 2021
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Honors Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Former Executive Director of UN Women, With 2021 Global Goalkeeper Award
Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 25 Sep 2021]
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 25 Sep 2021]
https://carb-x.org/
News
07.29.2021 |
CARB-X celebrates five years of progress in early-stage product development against antibiotic-resistant bacteria
CARB-X, a global non-profit partnership led by Boston University, is celebrating five years of progress in funding and supporting the development of innovative products targeting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Since it was founded in July 2016, CARB-X has invested $361 million in non-dilutive funding to develop innovative therapeutics including new classes of antibiotics and non-traditional agents, vaccines and other preventatives such as CRISPR-phage, microbiome-modifying agents and antibodies, and rapid diagnostics.
Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy – GE2P2 Global Foundation [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.net/
News/Analysis/Statements
:: Past weekly editions and posting of all segments of Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review are available here.
:: [NEW] Informed Consent: A Monthly Review – September 2021 is now posted here
CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://cepi.net/
Latest News
Global leaders commit further support for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and COVAX
Joint statement from COVAX following the Global COVID-19 Summit hosted by the United States
COVAX
23 Sep 2021
[See Milestones above for detail]
Clover Biopharmaceuticals announces positive efficacy data from Phase 2/3 trial
SCB-2019 (CpG 1018/Alum) demonstrated significant efficacy against multiple variants of COVID-19, including Delta
COVID-19
22 Sep 2021
DARPA – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [to 25 Sep 2021
https://www.darpa.mil/news
News
No new digest content identified.
Duke Global Health Innovation Center [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://dukeghic.org/
Our Blog
No new digest content identified.
EDCTP [to 25 Sep 2021]
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
News
No new digest content identified.
Emory Vaccine Center [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
Vaccine Center News
No new digest content identified.
European Vaccine Initiative [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.
Fondation Merieux [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
News, Events
No new digest content identified.
Gavi [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.gavi.org/
23 September 2021
Global leaders commit further support for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and COVAX
[See Milestones above for detail]
22 September 2021
DFC and Citi Risk Management Solution Helps Gavi Strengthen the Foundations of the COVAX Facility
:: DFC financing for vaccine-related efforts now totals nearly $600m committed during the Biden Administration
:: U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, in conjunction with Citi, launch risk management solution for COVAX Facility
:: Helps to insure against risk in 9 self-financing countries participating in COVAX
:: COVAX aims to provide fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in the world
Washington, New York and Geneva, 22 September 2021 – U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), in conjunction with Citi, today announced it is providing a risk management solution to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), to mitigate risk and overcome financial hurdles with governments that are funding COVID-19 vaccine purchases through the COVAX Facility. One of many actions unveiled at the U.S. COVID-19 Summit and highlighted by the White House, this risk management partnership embodies the collective and global action that will be required to address and end the COVID-19 pandemic.
DFC support will help Gavi’s efforts to pre-purchase up to 2 billion vaccines directly from manufacturers and allocate these vaccines rapidly and equitably throughout the world. DFC’s financing will offer protection against political risks in nine self-financing countries – across Latin and Central America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe – participating in COVAX, covering a total amount of more than $383 million in insurance…
20 September 2021
Iceland renews commitment to global equitable access to vaccines: first doses arrive in Côte d’Ivoire
:: As part of a donation of 125,726 doses to COVAX, the first shipment of 35,700 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Iceland has arrived in Côte d’Ivoire. This Icelandic commitment to global health comes on top of a pledge of ISK 750 million to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC).
:: Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development Cooperation: “Iceland is firmly committed to play its part. Equitable access to vaccines is not only a fundamental matter of global solidarity but a shared interest of us all.”
:: Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: “Iceland has long punched above its weight in development and global health: this shipment of Icelandic doses through COVAX underlines the government’s commitment to global equitable access to vaccines.”…
GHIT Fund [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 212 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that
No new digest content identified.
Global Fund [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News & Stories
No new digest content identified.
Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness [GloPID-R] [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.glopid-r.org/news/
22/09/2021
COVID-19: Advances and Remaining Challenges international conference opens September 29
Institut Pasteur will hold this international conference in collaboration with Inserm ANRS – Maladies infectieuses émergentes from September 29 to October 1, 2021. COVID-19 experts from around the globe will attend the event which will be broadcast live in English and held under the high patronage of the French President.
Leading researchers and clinicians will present the progress made and remaining challenges in virology, clinical presentations and management, epidemiology, and vaccinology for COVID-19. Topics to be covered include:
Viral entry and replication/neutralization
Viral persistence and Long COVID
Patient management and future treatments
Evaluation of impact of interventions
Children and SARS-CoV-2 transmission and control
Vaccine regimens and effectiveness
Why and how should we get the planet vaccinated?
Learn more & register
Hilleman Laboratories [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
Website reports “under maintenance” at inquiry
Human Vaccines Project [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/
News
Global COVID Lab Meeting
Sep 23, 2021
Aaron Ring: Autoantibodies in COVID-19
IAVI [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
Latest News
No new digest content identified.
International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities [ICMRA]
http://www.icmra.info/drupal/en/news
Selected Statements, Press Releases, Research
No new digest content identified.
ICRC [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.icrc.org/en/whats-new
Selected News Releases, Statements, Reports
President Peter Maurer UNGA 2021: International Humanitarian Law – Enhancing Monitoring, Improving Compliance
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,This year I have visited ICRC operations in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Syria, and Yemen, among others. Unique contexts but the same equation: when wars are fought in violation of the law,
22-09-2021 | Statement
ICRC Statement for the 2021 Security Council Open Debate: Climate and Security
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) welcomes today’s important debate held during high level week at the initiative of the Irish Presidency and chaired by his excellency Prime Minister Micheál Martin.As an exclusively humanitarian org
22-09-2021 | Article
IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/
Press Releases/Announcements
No new digest content identified.
IFRC [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Africa CDC, IFRC, and USAU call for equitable vaccine coverage in Africa
Addis Ababa, 23 September 2021 – Today, during a high-level event on COVID-19, on the margins of the UN General Assembly, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the U.S. Mission to the African Union (USAU) called on partners and governments to do more to end vaccine inequity. The event entitled “Saving Lives, Saving Livelihoods: Achieving high-level, equitable, COVID-19 vaccine coverage in African Union (AU) Member States” aimed to follow-up the Global COVID-19 summit convened by U.S. President Joseph R. Biden on September 22, with local African partners.
Much of the population of Africa is being left behind, even as other parts of the world begin their path to recovery from this deadly pandemic. The deep inequities in vaccine distribution are also linked to the devastating socio-economic impacts of COVID-19. According to a report released in April 2021, economic disruption is likely to persist in Africa due to COVID-19 restrictions—and the slow pace of vaccine rollouts. Worryingly, Africa has been facing multiple, chronic crises, including poverty and food insecurity, which have been exacerbated by COVID-19.
Africa CDC, IFRC and USAU warned that, in addition to slow vaccine rollouts, the presence of several crises, including COVID-19, in many African countries, is resulting in the continued loss of lives and livelihoods. The three institutions also indicated that having the vaccine doses alone won’t be enough.
John Nkengasong, Africa CDC Director, said: “As we call for the end of vaccine inequity, we know that the work doesn’t end there. We also need to be able to deliver those vaccines to the communities; ensure that people are prepared to be vaccinated and that the doses are being delivered where they are needed. It is crucial to continue working more closely with communities.”…
IFRC ramps up humanitarian assistance as record number of migrants cross the perilous Darién Gap
The IFRC is ramping up efforts to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to migrants travelling through the Darién Gap, one of the most dangerous migratory routes in the world.
Panama City/Geneva, 20 September 2021
Institut Pasteur [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.pasteur.fr/en/press-area
Press Documents
2.09.2021
SARS-CoV-2-related viruses capable of infecting human cells discovered in bats in northern Laos
IOM / International Organization for Migration [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.iom.int/press-room/press-releases
News – Selected
News 22 Sep 2021
Yemen: Millions of Displaced Persons and Migrants Desperate for Aid Amid Funding Shortfalls
ISC / International Science Council [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://council.science/current/
ISC is a non-governmental organization with a unique global membership that brings together 40 international scientific Unions and Associations and over 140 national and regional scientific organizations including Academies and Research Councils.
Blog
Seven organizations we want to hear more from on diversity in science
20.09.2021
IVAC [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
Updates; Events
No new digest content identified.
IVI [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.ivi.int/
No new digest content identified.
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/news/center-news/
Center News
New Report: Mental Health and Social Support for Healthcare and Hospital Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
September 23, 2021
MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.msf.org/
Latest [Selected Announcements]
Democratic Republic of Congo
Deadly typhoid outbreak under control in Popokabaka
Project Update 24 Sep 2021
Ukraine
Fighting tuberculosis with medication, mental health and social support
Project Update 19 Sep 2021
National Academy of Medicine – USA [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://nam.edu/programs/
Selected News/Programs
Four NAM Members Appointed to President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
September 23, 2021
President Joseph Biden announced the members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on September 22, 2021, including four members of the National Academy of Medicine and 20 members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and/or NAM. The NAM members appointed to PCAST include: Lisa A. Cooper […]
More Than 150 Innovators Awarded in Global Competition Seeking Solutions with the Aim to Improve Healthy Longevity
September 22, 2021
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), together with eight global collaborators representing over 50 countries and territories, today announced the awardees of the 2021 Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards. These awards are part of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition, a multiyear, multistage, and multimillion-dollar international competition seeking potential breakthrough innovations aiming to extend human health and […]
National Academy of Sciences – USA [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/
News
No new digest content identified.
National Vaccine Program Office – U.S. HHS [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.hhs.gov/vaccines/about/index.html
Upcoming Meetings/Latest Updates
No new digest content identified.
NIH [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
News Releases
No new digest content identified.
PATH [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
Press Releases
PATH signs action plan against COVID-19 at the US Global COVID-19 Summit
PATH commits to helping vaccinate 70 percent of the world by September 2022, to saving lives now, and to better preparing the world for the next health threat.
… Finally, we will hold global leaders accountable to the funding and commitments they have made to make sure we reach the goal of 70 percent of the world vaccinated by next year.
Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
Statements and Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
UNAIDS [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
24 September 2021
Partnering to get back on track to end AIDS by 2030
21 September 2021
Community-led initiative helps LGBTI migrants to learn their rights in Ecuador
21 September 2021
New report outlines the impact of United Kingdom aid cut on the global HIV response
21 September 2021
Empty promises will not save the world from COVID, campaigners warn ahead of Biden Global Vaccine Summit
20 September 2021
Inequalities at the heart of uneven progress in the AIDS response
UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/media-centre.htmlS
Selected News Releases, Announcements
UNHCR and Council of Europe discuss statelessness, urge States to uphold the right to a nationality in Europe
24 Sep 2021
UNHCR and IOM shocked and dismayed by deaths near Belarus-Poland border
21 Sep 2021
UNICEF [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Press Releases, News Notes, Statements [Selected]
Press release
09/24/2021
New storybook to help children stay hopeful during COVID-19
Resource for parents, teachers and health professionals follows successful first edition
Press release
09/23/2021
Global leaders commit further support for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and COVAX
A joint statement from COVAX partners
[See Milestones above for detail]
Press release
09/23/2021
Over 2 in 3 people expelled to Haiti from US border are women and children – UNICEF
UNICEF also concerned about situation of Haitian families at US-Mexico border
Remarks
09/21/2021
UNICEF Executive Director remarks at the virtual Ministerial-Event on safeguarding the achievements of 20 years of international engagement in Afghanistan
Checked against delivery
Press release
09/21/2021
Young children’s diets show no improvement in last decade, ‘could get much worse’ under COVID-19
During crucial period when children begin to transition to solid foods, just 1 in 3 are fed a diet diverse enough to grow well
Unitaid [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://unitaid.org/
Featured News
24 September 2021
Unitaid’s statement on the recommendation of casirivimab/imdevimab for COVID-19 treatment
Geneva, 24 September 2021 – Unitaid welcomes the WHO guidelines published today that recommend the use of the combination of two monoclonal antibodies for the treatment for both outpatients and patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
The need to have effective treatments for COVID-19 has never been greater, with many countries around the world facing case surges driven by Delta and other variants. These surges are having a particularly devastating impact on low- and middle- income countries, which continue to have limited access to vaccines.
Global, equitable access to new tools against COVID-19 is crucial if we are to ensure that hard-won developments in the fight against the pandemic can reach all those who may benefit. We now need to see how new therapeutic options, as they become recommended, can reach their potential in all settings, including in low- and middle-income countries.
With this newly recommended treatment, Unitaid notes the feasibility challenges, severely constrained supply, and – for non-hospitalized patients – limited benefit for all but those at highest risk, as detailed in the guidelines. WHO allocation criteria will be critical in helping identify people who may benefit from this treatment. A proposed initial donation from Roche/Regeneron, to be managed by UNICEF, could help meet immediate needs and ensure casirivimab/imdevimab reaches people who could benefit. However a limited donation – on its own – is not enough to ensure equitable, global access to lifesaving COVID-19 treatments. Broader access commitments are needed from industry to ensure that pricing and supply conditions enable this product to reach all people regardless of where they live…
Vaccine Equity Cooperative [nee Initiative] [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://vaccineequitycooperative.org/news/
News
No new digest content identified.
Vaccination Acceptance & Demand Initiative [Sabin) [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.vaccineacceptance.org/
Announcements
No new digest content identified.
Vaccine Confidence Project [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
News, Research and Reports
Coronavirus global impact
Launched April 2, 2020 and recurring every 3 days, Premise Data is utilizing its global network of Contributors to assess economic, social, and health sentiment surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Goals House @UNGA | HOW COVID-19 IS CHANGING THE WAY THE WORLD THINKS ABOUT VACCINES
Prof. Heidi Larson participated in the UK Government-hosted virtual roundtable “How COVID-19 is changing the way the world thinks about vaccines: lessons for the future of global health” as part of the Global Goals House series of events that coincide with United Nations General Assembly Week. The debate explored the evolution of public sentiment around vaccines from before the pandemic to present day and identified the most effective approaches adopted – from enhanced public perception and misinformation tracking to rapid message deployment – to build confidence in vaccines and promote uptake.
Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
News
No new digest content identified.
Wellcome Trust [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
News and reports
News
Learning from pandemics
Head of Prevention, Charlie Weller spoke to us about how the lessons of previous epidemics helped us respond to Covid-19.
21 September 2021
The Wistar Institute [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Releases
Sep. 22, 2021
Wistar and Penn Medicine Awarded $11.7 Million Melanoma Research Grant from the National Cancer Institute
PHILADELPHIA — (Sept. 22, 2021) —The Wistar Institute and Penn Medicine have been awarded a prestigious $11.7 million Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, or SPORE, grant from the National Cancer Institute. The five-year award will fund three new melanoma research projects that translate fundamental laboratory discoveries made at The Wistar Institute and in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania into new therapeutics to treat skins cancers.
WFPHA: World Federation of Public Health Associations [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.wfpha.org/
Latest News
Eradicating Polio: What more Is Needed?
Sep 22, 2021
Polio cases have fallen 99.9% since 1988. In 2020 Africa was certified polio free by the World Health Organization. However, polio will remain a key public health concern until such time as there are no wild… On October 12, 2021, at 10:00 – 11:00 (CEST), “Eradicating Polio: What more Is Needed?” webinar will be held to focus on the barriers, challenges and leverages to reach every child and eradicate polio globally. Register
World Bank [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all
Selected News, Announcements
Remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass for UNGA21 Global COVID-19 Summit
Date: September 22, 2021 Type: Speeches and Transcripts
President Biden, excellencies, and distinguished colleagues.
The World Bank Group is strongly supporting widespread access to COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in developing countries. We welcome the global target of having at least 70 percent of the population fully vaccinated in all countries by UNGA 2022.
To help support this, the World Bank Group has a $20 billion facility to help developing countries purchase vaccines and set up vaccination systems. We have funded vaccination programs in 54 countries. We are eager to increase both the amounts of funding and the range of countries, including through COVAX.
We have partnered with the African Union’s African Vaccine Acquisition Trust – AVAT – to increase delivery of vaccine doses for African and Caribbean countries and to tackle persistent vaccine delivery, manufacturing, and trade issues.
Shortages of vaccine deliveries remain a critical bottleneck. The World Bank Group, with the IMF, WHO, and WTO have formed a Task Force to accelerate access to COVID-19 vaccines. The Multilateral Task Force’s data and analysis show that advanced economies have billions of excess doses beyond what is required to vaccinate their entire populations.
We’re urging countries with excess vaccine supplies to release doses quickly and transparently and to fulfill their generous donation pledges.
The Task Force is also urging governments to eliminate trade and regulatory barriers to the export of vaccines and other COVID-19 health tools. To help build supply, the IFC, which is the World Bank Group’s private sector development arm, is investing in vaccine manufacturing and working to boost local production capacity in Africa.
Stopping the spread of COVID-19 through widespread vaccine distribution will increase health security for everyone and is critical to a full return to inclusive growth everywhere.
Thank you.
World Customs Organization – WCO [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.wcoomd.org/
Latest News – Selected Items
24 September 2021
Gender equality and inclusion in Customs at the forefront of high-level discussions
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2021/
Press Releases, Statements
No new digest content identified.
WTO – World Trade Organisation [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news_e.htm
WTO News and Events
DG Okonjo-Iweala: Leverage trade to build sustainable food systems
23 September 2021
In a video message to the United Nations’ Food Systems Summit on 23 September, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala underscored the importance of international trade in building sustainable food systems. Noting the opportunity provided by the 12th Ministerial Conference in late November to make progress on critical agricultural issues, she called on world leaders to support and reinvigorate the trading system to ensure greater sustainability.
News item
Access to COVID-19 vaccine, ministerial outcomes key to driving development in LLDCs
23 September 2021
Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang called on the global community to increase the access of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) to the COVID-19 vaccine and to achieve outcomes at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference that will support sustainable development. DDG Zhang was speaking at the LLDC ministerial meeting held virtually on the margins of the UN General Assembly on 23 September. “The decisions and agreements reached at the WTO will determine the future of the multilateral trading system and its potential to keep driving development,” he said.
[Excerpt]
…Countries’ economic prospects are bifurcating in line with their access to vaccines and their fiscal and monetary capacity to provide economic relief and stimulus. LLDCs are in a weaker position with regard to access to the vaccine and the financial capacity to adopt stimulus measures. The multilateral community needs to step forward to make up for these shortcomings.
A rapid, equitable vaccine rollout is a prerequisite for inclusive economic growth and continuing progress towards the achievement of the objectives of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Vienna Program of Action.
The WTO, together with our partners WHO, the IMF and the World Bank, has been working with vaccine manufacturers to enhance production, including new investments in emerging markets and developing countries and ensure equitable access to vaccines for all. Our joint task force has a website with vaccine data and news — COVID19taskforce.com.
The response to the pandemic will be a central issue during our conversations at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in just over two-months time. To achieve meaningful results that will make a difference in responding to this and any future pandemics, we are focusing on three key areas:
One, free up vaccine supply chains by lowering export restrictions and facilitating trade.
Two, work with manufacturers to identify supply chain bottlenecks and increase production in developing countries.
And three, find pragmatic solutions to technology transfer, knowhow, and intellectual property questions…
News item
DG Okonjo-Iweala: Vaccine policy key to sustainable economic and trade recovery
23 September 2021
Speaking at the virtual White House Global COVID-19 Summit on 22 September, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said sustainable economic and trade recovery can only be achieved with a policy that ensures rapid global access to vaccines.
[Excerpt]
…Vaccinating the world is a moral, practical, and economic imperative.
Moral, because we cannot accept that in a world where the technology exists to save lives, we let people die because they live in poor countries that have neither the resources, nor the access to vaccines and other medical countermeasures needed to save their populations. It is not acceptable that 58% of people in developed countries are fully vaccinated, with vaccines available to anybody who wants one, while in low-income countries, barely 1% of people are vaccinated, and even frontline medical workers are denied access for want of supply.
Practical, because the longer the virus circulates freely, the likelier it is that variants even more dangerous than Delta will emerge and go global.
And economic, because the present K-shaped economic recovery is not sustainable. Currently, economies with abundant vaccines and ample fiscal and monetary firepower — which is to say, mostly rich countries and some Emerging Markets — have rebounded strongly. But other countries are being left behind. Extreme poverty is rising after decades of decline. According to the IMF, advanced economies will grow 5.6% this year, compared to only 3.9% for low-income developing countries. WTO projections show a similar trend in trade: Asia, North America, and Europe are on track for stronger trade growth than Africa and Latin America.
We have a choice. Either we converge downwards, by allowing the virus to drag us all back down, or we converge upwards, by vaccinating the world…
::::::
ARM [Alliance for Regenerative Medicine] [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://alliancerm.org/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases
No new digest content identified.
BIO [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.bio.org/press-releases
Press Releases, Letters, Testimony, Comments [Selected]
No new digest content identified.
DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
News; Upcoming events
BioManguinhos and Sinergium Biotech selected by PAHO to develop COVID-19 mRNA vaccines
Washington DC, September 21, 2021 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has announced the selection of Sinergium Biotech, in Argentina and Bio-Manguinhos, in Brazil, as regional hubs for the development and production of mRNA-based vaccines in Latin America in a bid to tackle COVID-19 and future infectious-disease challenges.
The Bio-Manguinhos Institute of Technology on Immunobiologicals at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) has a long tradition in vaccine manufacturing and has made promising advances in the development of an innovative mRNA vaccine against COVID-19. Sinergium Biotech, a private sector biopharmaceutical company, will partner with pharmaceutical mAbxience, to develop and manufacture active vaccine ingredients. The two companies have extensive experience in the production and development of vaccines and biotechnological medicines.
The announcement was made by PAHO Assistant Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Scientist, during a side event on the margins of PAHO’s 59th Directing Council. The “Technology Transfer for the Production of mRNA Vaccines in the Americas” event brought together health ministers and authorities from countries in the region to discuss vaccine production. “Delays in production have meant that many countries [in the region] are still awaiting the doses they purchased months ago. Limited vaccine supplies continue to set us back,” PAHO Director Dr. Carissa F. Etienne said in her opening remarks to the side event.
The region of the Americas has borne the brunt of COVID-19 infections to date, with 87.6 million cases recorded and over 2.16 million lives lost. Vaccine distribution continues to be unequal, with few countries in the region reaching the 40% COVID-19 vaccine target set out by WHO.
ICBA – International Council of Biotechnology Associations [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://internationalbiotech.org/news/
News
No new digest content identified.
IFPMA [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Statements, Publications
IFPMA EFPIA PhRMA BIO ABPI Statement – Global COVID-19 Summit: Ending the Pandemic and Building
22 September 2021
Innovative biopharmaceutical companies are at the forefront of the response to the pandemic; not least by developing and manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines in record time. Our industry joins today’s global summit to demonstrate our commitment towards working with governments and global health partners to align on a common vision to expand and enhance our shared efforts to defeat COVID-19.
This month COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing output will reach 7.5 billion doses, and 12 billion vaccines will be produced by the end of 2021. At this rate, on the basis of the most conservative projections (Airfinity report), even if governments in G7 countries decide to vaccinate teenagers and adults at a rate of more than 80% and decide to give boosters to at-risk populations, there would still be over 1.2 billion doses available for distribution by the end of this year. By June 2022, if there are no major bottlenecks and trade barriers, output will reach over 24 billion.
We are fully committed to “vaccinate the world” as articulated in our “Five steps to urgently advance COVID-19 vaccine equity” we are working with governments and partners to:
step up dose sharing,
continueefforts to optimize production,
eliminatetrade barriers,
support country readiness, and
continue to drive innovation.
The G7 and G20 countries are making strides to increase dose sharing and we welcome the increased focus from these leaders to respond to the challenge of greater dose sharing. Now, in addition to doses already committed, each month, over 200 million doses secured by G7 countries could be available for low- and lower-middle-income countries. Political leadership is critical to distributing the 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2021; and developing robust plans to enable the efficient distribution of these doses with due regard to the capacity in low- and lower-income countries to roll out immunization plans across their priority populations and achieve vaccine equity.
To “save lives now”, treatments remain integral to COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Thankfully, a handful of COVID-19 treatments are already standard of care. The biopharmaceutical industry is continuing to research, develop and scale up manufacturing capacity for existing and novel treatments, but their effective roll out to patients is dependent on country readiness to ensure the right patient gets the right treatment at the right time.
Strengthening health systems to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines and treatments get to all who need them will be the foundation for “building back better” and ensuring all patients will benefit from future innovation. To stave off future pandemics, society needs a thriving innovation eco-system alongside a resilient, sufficiently resourced, health infrastructure that will sustain the development, production and deployment of vaccines and therapeutics vital to continued global health progress.
International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association [IGBA]
https://www.igbamedicines.org/
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International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations – IAPO [to 25 Sep 2021]
https://www.iapo.org.uk/news/topic/6
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PhRMA [to 25 Sep 2021]
http://www.phrma.org/
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A global focus on ending the COVID-19 pandemic
September 22, 2021
Stephen J. Ubl is president and chief executive officer of PhRMA.
Today, President Biden convened global leaders to confront the challenges around ending this pandemic. We stand with the president, all governments, organizations and sectors in a shared commitment to:
Vaccinate the world; Save lives now; and Be better prepared for the next public health crisis.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, America’s biopharmaceutical companies have come together in unprecedented ways to attack the virus. These include enhancing testing availability, working closely with hospitals and physicians on thousands of clinical trials, and teaming up with competitors and new partners through hundreds of collaborations in countries around the world to manufacture and deliver vaccines.
Biopharmaceutical companies have ramped up COVID-19 vaccine production from zero to as many as 12 billion doses this year. We are also working to address barriers standing in the way of global vaccination, including vaccine hesitancy and further increasing production and partnerships. As I’ve said previously, waiving commitments to protect vaccine intellectual property would threaten our collective ability to meet the ambitious global vaccination goals by compromising efforts to expand global manufacturing capacity and jeopardize safety.
Plus, our companies continue to innovate as the virus evolves, with ongoing research into new and existing treatments and vaccines. Today, there are more than 600 global unique therapies for COVID-19 in trial, including several that have already made their way to patients. Furthermore, COVID-19 has demonstrated that we need a more resilient health care system that works for all patients and robust support for innovation. For instance, we were prepared to fight COVID-19 due to years of industry investments in technology, like mRNA. We need to make these same smart investments today to prepare for tomorrow’s world.
Our industry will continue to drive coordination, collaboration and joint problem-solving across the research and development, manufacturing and distribution ecosystems to fight the pandemic. Our work is not done. I was honored to participate in this international gathering focused on solutions that will end this pandemic and get our world back to normal. The biopharmaceutical industry is committed to being a partner with all stakeholders to beat COVID-19.
Blog Post
PhRMA awards $150,000 to community-based projects aimed at tackling inequities in access to COVID-19 testing, vaccines and therapeutics
September 21, 2021
Today, we are thrilled to announce the PhRMA CAREs grant program has awarded $150,000 to fund four additional initiatives aimed at reducing inequities.
Blog Post
PhRMA releases 2021 industry profile
September 20, 2021
Today, PhRMA released its 2021 Biopharmaceutical Industry Profile, a resource that highlights the latest from the industry on innovation, access, and affordability.
Blog Post
vaccines and global health :: ethics and policy 