GHIT awarded US$ 1.83 million to researchers at Ohio State University, Nagasaki University and McGill University for development and preclinical testing of the safety and efficacy of two vaccine candidates against both: cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. "These candidates are in early pre-clinical development with indications which are not only for visceral leishmaniasis but also for cutaneous leishmaniasis. This is very important as relatively, there is more focus on visceral leishmaniasis and quite a bit of investment but not so much on cutaneous leishmaniasis" said Dr Slingsby to CNS.
Leishmaniasis infects two million people worldwide every year, causing painful, sometimes disfiguring, skin ulcers in its cutaneous form and affecting vital organs in its visceral form, which is fatal if left untreated.
Without effective tools how will we control and eliminate dengue?
The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. "We want to continue to invest in dengue related research because there are many dengue strains (serotypes) and it could be difficult to control dengue throughout the world with any single vaccine or product so research is very important to find effective tools [for dengue control]" said Dr Slingsby.
GHIT has awarded US$ 612,902 to the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI), Nagasaki University, and the Institut Pasteur to manufacture a clinical grade formulation and conduct preclinical testing of a dengue vaccine candidate that is intended to provide protection against all four serotypes of the dengue virus. The project is the second dengue vaccine project to join GHIT's portfolio.
Will a better vaccine accelerate efforts to end TB?
Nine million people fell ill with TB and 1.5 million died in 2013. The currently most widely used anti-TB vaccine in the world, Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, protects children against serious forms of TB to some extent but has largely failed to eliminate the disease, due to its limited efficacy. Research and development for new vaccines would have the biggest impact on the epidemic, and remains the cornerstone to reaching global elimination within the coming decades.
Dr Slingsby informed that "GHIT Fund has invested in supporting ongoing research of a TB vaccine candidate which will enter its Phase 2b of clinical trials (which will test its safety and efficacy). It is likely that results may come by third quarter of 2018."
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