A new Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Action Fund will inject nearly US $1 billion into the collapsing antibiotic development pipeline, aiming to bring two to four new antibiotics to patients by 2030. The investment, organized by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations and 23 different pharma companies, is the biggest single investment in antibiotic […] Continue reading ->
Access to life-saving dexamethasone will be expanded to some 4.5 million COVID-19 patients in low- and middle-income countries through an advance bulk purchase of the drug in bulk, UNITAID has said. The move is the first concrete step by a global health agency under the umbrella of the WHO ACT accelerator partnership to boost access […] Continue reading ->
High-level WHO official Emer Cooke has been nominated as the head of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the critical regulatory body for European health product approvals. Cooke, an Irish national with 30 years’ experience in international regulatory affairs, is currently the Director of the WHO’s Regulation and Prequalification Department since 2016. In this role, she […] Continue reading ->
Germany has pledged an unprecedented € 500 million to the World Health Organization for 2020, making this the “highest amount” ever provided by the country, said Jens Spahn, German Minister of Health at an impromptu WHO press briefing on Thursday.  The German contribution, equal to about 20% of WHO’s annual budget, plugs the major funding […] Continue reading ->
About 1.7 billion people, or 22% of the world’s population, has at least one underlying health condition that puts them at increased risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19, according to a new modelling study published in Lancet Global Health.   Based on the new assessment, about 4% of the world’s population, in total, is at […] Continue reading ->
A major clinical trial ongoing in the United Kingdom has fingered dexamethasone, a common anti-inflammatory drug used to treat arthritis and asthma, as the “first” treatment to actually reduce mortality among COVID-19 patients – by as much as one-third.  The preliminary findings were announced by the trial’s principal investigators, Martin Landray and Peter Horby, both […] Continue reading ->
Preliminary results from a Swiss study found that the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in children ages 5 to 9 years old is 68% lower than the seroprevalence in adults aged 20 to 49 years old.  The study, titled SEROCoV-POP, reported seroprevalence results from almost 2800 participants followed from April […] Continue reading ->