Kenyan manufacturer Universal Corporation LTD (UCL) has become the first African manufacturer to be issued a World Health Organization quality certification of a key antimalarial drug used to prevent infection in pregnant women and children.  This certification, known as prequalification, will enable UCL to support regional efforts to combat malaria through local production of high-quality […] Continue reading ->
The Omicron-targeted boosters are coming. Almost 250 days since Omicron became the dominant variant in the US, Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday officially announced that they’ve requested an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration for their booster dose of an Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent vaccine for those 12 and older. The […] Continue reading ->
An expert panel of advisers to the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that countries consider a second COVID-19 booster dose for older, at-risk and immunocompromised people, echoing guidance provided by European and U.S. regulators months earlier. WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization released its updated recommendations on Thursday, a week after […] Continue reading ->
Top executives at Bavarian Nordic, which makes the world’s only monkeypox vaccine, avoided news media in the face of a worldwide shortage of their product. But SIGA, the company behind the antiviral treatment Tecovirimat (TPOXX™), has not been so shy. In an exclusive interview, SIGA’s CEO, Phillip Gomez, says the small, speciality firm is  prepared […] Continue reading ->
Recent reforms to the World Health Organization “prequalification” program that certifies the safety and efficacy of health products procured in bulk by donors for low and middle-income countries have speeded up the process and thus accelerated access to lifesaving medicines and diagnostic tools in low- and middle-income countries. However, long lead times for product approvals, […] Continue reading ->
In the aftermath of a national health emergency declaration for Monkeypox, the United States has now decided to split the approved MVA-BN vaccine into five doses in an effort to stretch supply.  Some experts, however, have warned that the plan may backfire if health workers are not sufficiently trained in the intradermal skin-based jab technique […] Continue reading ->
High income countries like the United States and Canada are casting a wide net in their vaccine strategy for monkeypox, vaccinating people exposed to an infected case and groups at risk of exposure while scrambling to study the results in terms of efficacy.  That was the upshot of a WHO-sponsored symposium on monkeypox research involving […] Continue reading ->