Global Cause
In this issue
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Helping biotechs ensure a successful vaccine journey
Biotech companies starting the vaccine development journey need to look at the whole process right from the start. “Research shows that about 22% of novel therapeutics never progress beyond their first clinical trials, for various reasons. This includes lack of commercially viability,” says Menzo Havenga, CEO, Batavia Biosciences. Contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) typically...
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Looking for ways to support the recovery of NHS diagnostic services
The pandemic has increased the backlog of people waiting for diagnostic tests. New ways of delivering these services are needed to increase efficiency and keep patients safe. In 2019, the NHS Long Term Plan — a report from frontline health and care staff, patients and other experts — identified the need for a radical overhaul...
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How we can learn from long COVID for Lyme disease
The large number of people with long COVID, many of them health professionals, has facilitated recognition of this complex condition. Just one year on there are NICE guidelines, SNOMED codes, specialist clinics and a research agenda. Those with long-standing, persistent symptoms from Lyme disease look on with interest. Currently dismissed from follow up and with...
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Protecting the world from the pandemics of the future
The effects of COVID-19 will be felt for generations, but the virus could be the wake-up call we need to respond quickly and effectively to the next big threats. Launched in 2017, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has overseen breakthroughs in vaccine development including advancing the first ever Nipah and Lassa virus vaccines...
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Why working together is the best way to beat infectious disease
The global pandemic has shown there is no use trying to control infectious diseases in isolation. Collaborative international expertise and trust will be vital in the years ahead. After the catastrophe of the last year, is the world finally getting the message? To successfully fight infectious diseases, it’s not enough to have pockets of awareness...
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Humans’ oldest foe: fighting malaria in the face of resistance
Early markers of drug resistance have been identified in Africa, threatening the long-term efficacy of first line treatments in the continent, which bears around 93% of the global burden of the disease. The total malaria deaths in Africa almost halved between 2000 and 2019, with the fight against the disease focused on three key elements....
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Prioritising public health: What will our leaders learn from COVID-19?
For years, those of us working to end tuberculosis have witnessed the damage that comes from viewing public health as a non-priority. Widespread failure to invest in public health has left our societies profoundly vulnerable to pandemics of communicable disease. National leaders must learn lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic that will help accelerate progress toward ending TB,...
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Years of investment in TB lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Tuberculosis (TB), an airborne infection, has killed over a billion in the past 200 years, more than any other infectious disease. In 2020 another new airborne infection, COVID-19, overtook TB as the leading cause of death among infections, but TB still killed more people than COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries. Scaling up treatment In 2018, to accelerate progress towards ending TB, a United...
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Can rapid tests help ease COVID-19 restrictions?
Thirty –minute, inexpensive, non laboratory tests for the SARS-CoV-2 antigen can identify people likely to pass on the virus and may augment public health efforts to reopen society. Which tests are needed to manage COVID-19? Rapid isolation of infectious cases is central to managing outbreaks of high-consequence diseases like COVID-19. As those infected with SARS-CoV-2 may not have symptoms, testing is essential for identifying cases.1 Three types of test are being used: nucleic acid;...
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Why there is no time to lose in tackling tuberculosis
The world pledged to end tuberculosis by 2030 — but the global pandemic has put that at risk. It’s time to refocus and redouble efforts. Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director, Global Tuberculosis Programme, World Health Organization (WHO), has a stark warning. Despite a commitment from world leaders to end TB by 2030, this preventable and curable disease kills around 1.4 million...