The existential project to save the planet set out by the 2016 Paris Agreement is in tatters. There is currently “no credible pathway” to limit increases in global temperatures to the 1.5°C degree target detailed in the accords, the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) said in its global emissions gap report released Thursday. The chance of […] Continue reading ->
Countries’ voluntary commitments to fight climate change will still mean an increase in global emissions by some 10.6% as of 2030, according to the latest report of UN Climate Change,  which tabulates the most recent ‘Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) of countries to the climate battle. This represents only a slight “improvement” over the commitments as […] Continue reading ->
China administered the world’s first oral aerosol COVID-19 vaccine boosters in Shanghai on Wednesday, as new lockdown measures were imposed on Wuhan, the supposed birthplace of the pandemic. Chinese vaccine manufacturer CanSino Biologics said in a media statement that the inclusion of its vaccine in Shanghai’s booster vaccination program marked “the start of the rollout […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alarm over drug-resistant fungi as it released its first-ever priority list of fungal pathogens at risk from antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Nineteen species of fungi have been identified by the global health agency as representing “the greatest threat to public health” due to their growing drug resistance.   Meanwhile, […] Continue reading ->
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network (DCVMN) have thrown their weight behind the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) proposal to improve access to vaccines in future pandemics. The proposal, known as the Berlin Declaration, outlines how the pharmaceutical industry would reserve an allocation of real-time production of […] Continue reading ->
A precedent-setting agreement to permit an expensive cancer drug to be produced more affordably by generic manufacturers has been signed between the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and pharmaceutical company Novartis, enabling much wider access to a medicine that treats a rare blood cancer. Nilotinib is a twice-daily oral medication used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia […] Continue reading ->