Afrigen Biologics, the South African facility that developed an mRNA vaccine from scratch during COVID-19, has become the first African facility to be certified to manufacture investigational biological products for Phase I and II clinical trials. The facility celebrated receiving its Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification for its mRNA facility in Cape Town from the […] Continue reading ->
Amid surging geopolitical tensions, increased global health threats, and strained public budgets, global health leaders and pharmaceutical executives converged in Geneva with a unified message: medical innovation must be treated as a critical investment not a healthcare drain. Showcasing this shift, Canada unveiled strategic investments and new regulations. GENEVA – Inside the packed ballroom of […] Continue reading ->
This week’s announcement of BioNTech factory closures in Germany marks an end to the country’s pandemic-era COVID-19 vaccine production boom. The Mainz-based pioneer announced that it will manufacture its final batches of the vaccine domestically later this year, transferring all future production to its American partner, Pfizer. This strategic retreat from Germany – which includes […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization has ‘pre-qualified’ Coartem® Baby, the first-ever malaria treatment for young infants of 4.5 kilograms or less. The combination treatment, now being rolled out in Ghana, aims to fill a longstanding gap in treatments available for children under the age of 5, who constitute three quarters of the estimated 610,000 malaria deaths […] Continue reading ->
Brazilian children from the Yanomami indigenous community will be the first in the world to get a single-dose paediatric treatment for relapsing malaria. The introduction of paediatric tafenoquine, developed by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and pharmaceutical  company GSK, marks a “major step” towards closing the treatment gap for children at risk of relapsing Plasmodium […] Continue reading ->
The United States and the Global Fund will support three million people to get lenacapavir, the twice-a-year HIV injection that is almost 100% successful in preventing transmission of the virus – a million more than their previous commitment. Jeremy Lewin, US Under Secretary of State for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom at the […] Continue reading ->
Scientists working on new malaria drugs now have access to an open-access artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform  aimed at accelerating drug discovery, thanks to a partnership between  Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and deepmirror. Drug Design for Global Health (dd4gh) uses “both predictive and generative AI to give researchers, especially those in the most resource-limited settings, […] Continue reading ->
The Human papillomavirus (HPV35), globally associated with only 2% of invasive cervical cancers (ICC), has a disproportionately higher prevalence in sub‐Saharan Africa, reaching rates of 22-30% in some countries among women with ICC lesions, according to a new study. Recently, a high-level panel called for redoubled efforts in HPV vaccination, screening and treatment to meet […] Continue reading ->