In Kenya, toxicologists and epidemiologists face a difficult choice: to pursue better-paid work to support their families, or volunteer as reviewers for vaccine clinical trials, often without the compensation needed to cover even their children’s school fees. Their dilemma underscores a broader challenge in Africa’s clinical research ecosystem. Slow, duplicative approval processes and limited regulatory […] Continue reading ->
The post-pandemic decline in infection-prevention practices, along with the broader crash in global health finance, are undermining progress against antimicrobial resistance –  one of the planet’s most urgent health threats. At a recent panel discussion hosted by the Geneva Health Forum (GHF), leading experts from WHO, academia, biotech, and patient advocacy warned that national AMR plans […] Continue reading ->
Artificial intelligence could compress years of drug discovery into months – helping to overcome growing drug resistance to existing treatments for malaria and other vector-borne diseases. But scientists in low-income countries are often left behind. Jeremy Burrows, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) vice president, head of drug discovery, explains how a new open-access, AI-powered drug discovery […] Continue reading ->
Technological advances in Artificial Intelligence applications for healthcare are quickly outpacing regulatory and ethical safeguards, creating a dangerous gap in patient safety, warns a milestone report on AI in Health Systems, published Wednesday by the World Health Organization’s European Region (WHO/EURO).  Paradoxically, the WHO’s urgent call for tighter AI regulation coincided with a far-reaching European […] Continue reading ->
The 97% cure rate for the novel compound, ganaplacide/lumefantrine in a recent Phase 3 trial offers hope for continued progress rolling back malaria even as resistance to artemisinin combination therapies (ACT) escalates.  A next-generation antimalarial drug GanLum (ganaplacide/lumefantrine, KLU156) slightly outperformed a standard of care Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) in a recent Phase 3 trial […] Continue reading ->
DURBAN, South Africa — A top executive at Africa’s biggest drug company shared a few home truths with the continent’s health policymakers about the obstacles to local manufacturing at the Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) 2025. Aspen Pharmacare’s Dr Stavros Nicolaou blamed regulatory bottlenecks and procurement policies for the failure of drug manufacturers […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN – Global life expectancy rose again in 2023 after a decline during the COVID pandemic with overall life expectancy 20 years higher as compared to 1950.  But North America and Latin America are seeing higher death rates among adolescents and young adults due to a crisis in mental health – reflected in higher rates […] Continue reading ->