Tens of Millions of TB Patients Cured

The World Health Organization reports that over the past 15 years, the Stop TB Strategy has resulted in 36 million people being cured of tuberculosis and eight million lives saved.  Reductions in disease burden achieved to date follow fourteen years of intensive efforts at global, regional and country levels to implement the Stop TB Strategy [...]

Malaria parasite’s resistance to top drug grows

Artemisinin, derived from the sweet wormwood shrub, is the best drug available but misuse and over-prescription have led to the parasite becoming resistant to it. Counterfeit antimalarial drugs have also been a major cause of deaths.

U.S. and other countries make H1N1 vaccine available internationally through the WHO

The United States joins Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and Britain in efforts to make the H1N1 vaccine available to less-developed countries.  The White House announced yesterday that they are prepared to make 10 percent of America’s H1N1 vaccine supply available to other countries through the World Health Organization.
The recent news that [...]

Counterfeit malaria drugs kill thousands in Africa

MediaGlobal (a global news agency, based in the United Nations Secretariat) recently reported on the WHO’s increasing efforts to combat counterfeit medications in Africa — and the deadly impact of these fakes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stepped up their efforts to combat the creation and distribution of counterfeit malaria pills in Africa.  WHO estimates [...]

Treating H1N1 – WHO recommends keeping antivirals for severe cases

In contrast to the H1N1 treatment protocols established by many developed nations, the World Health Organization recently announced that healthy patients who get H1N1 swine flu without suffering complications do not need to be treated with antivirals like Tamiflu.  Antiviral treatments are strongly recommended for pregnant women, patients with underlying medical conditions and children [...]

H1N1 vaccines close to approval says WHO

The World Health Organization recently stated that the first vaccines to combat H1N1 swine flu should be approved and ready for use in some countries from September, according to a recent article by Reuters.
Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research, also said vaccine production yields were improving, following a disappointing start that [...]

Incentives important to stimulate drug development – WHO

Pharmaceutical firms need incentives, including lucrative patents, to keep creating drugs and vaccines against emergent threats such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic, the World Health Organisation’s head said on Tuesday.
“Progress in public health depends on innovation. Some of the greatest strides forward for health have followed the development and introduction of new medicines and vaccines,” [...]

New drug being tested in Africa for river blindness

The World Health Organization reports that a clinical trial is being launched in three African countries of a drug that could eliminate onchocerciasis, or river blindness, one of the leading infectious causes of blindness across Africa. The drug, moxidectin, is being investigated for its potential to kill or sterilize the adult worms of Onchocerca volvulus, [...]

Drug development for TB: an innovative collaboration

A landmark collaboration could see the development of the first new-action tuberculosis drug in 40 years.  Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), a not-for-profit, product development partnership, and Tibotec, a Johnson & Johnson company, have joined forces to focus on the development of the new experimental drug TMC207.
Forbes reports that if the drug [...]

GAVI announces innovative approach to developing vaccines for developing nations

At the end of last week, the GAVI Alliance partners (the World Bank, WHO and UNICEF), five national governments and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation formally announced the first-ever Advance Market Commitment (AMC) designed to accelerate access to vaccines against pneumococcal disease.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the $1.5 billion program marks a departure [...]