As the number of novel coronavirus infections rose again on Thursday – to 28,060 confirmed cases in China and 225 abroad – a US Centers for Disease Control official raised the possible spectre that the epidemic could become a global “pandemic” – if countries fail to take assertive action now. “While unclear how the situation […] Continue reading ->
The low worldwide prices for antibiotics, combined with the need to carefully ration sale of any powerful new drugs that come to market to preserve their efficacy, continue to dampen industry investment in desperately-needed treatments for new drug-resistant superbugs, according to a sweeping new report by the AMR Industry Alliance, released today. While civil society […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization issued new guidelines for the treatment of multi drug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis on Wednesday, prioritizing for the first time an all-oral treatment regimen. The new treatment recommends replacing the painful injectable drugs that patients had to endure under previous treatment guidelines with a shorter course of oral bedaquiline – one of only […] Continue reading ->
A new plan to dramatically accelerate global efforts to end tuberculosis, one of the world’s deadliest and oldest known infectious diseases, was launched Tuesday by the Stop TB Partnership in Jakarta. The fully-costed plan is based on commitments made at a 2018 United Nations High-Level Meeting on Ending TB (UNHLM) to reduce TB deaths by […] Continue reading ->
Criminal activity surrounding the manufacture, distribution and sale of falsified medicines is “on the rise” as a global health problem in many developing countries and in rich nations – especially online – but efforts to stem the growing health threat will require robust collective action by all stakeholders, a leading Novartis official warned Friday in […] Continue reading ->