Breakthroughs Blog: Antimicrobial resistance

Interested in more global health innovation news? Every week GHTC scours media reports worldwide to deliver essential global health R&D news and content to your inbox. Sign up now to receive our weekly R&D News Roundup email. The Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) last week announced $467,000 in funding to GlyProVac to develop a maternal vaccine that targets Escherichia coli, the bacteria mainly responsible for neonatal sepsis, which is the leading cause of death among infants and a particular challenge in low- and middle-income countries. The funding will specifically support the development of the vaccine candidate GPV02, which offers protection to newborns through the antibodies passed on by vaccinated expectant mothers in utero and through breast milk after birth. GPV02 uses a unique approach compared to other attempted protein-based bacterial vaccines because it involves previously undiscovered natural sugar modifications and uses BEMAP technology to allow the vaccine to imitate E. coli, preparing the immune system to recognize the bacterium in the case of future infection.Last week, the Advisory Group on Immunization Practices at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended Valneva’s Ixchiq chikungunya vaccine for some travelers and laboratory researchers at risk of contracting the mosquito-borne virus. The United States records about 100 to 200 chikungunya cases a year in people infected abroad by the virus, which is mainly found in parts of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. The vaccine was licensed by the Food and Drug Administration last fall for adults—the first vaccine approved for chikungunya. CDC has indicated that it may later expand the recommendation for people living in US territories where the virus may spread.A new extensive, long-term analysis from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that COVID-19 vaccines induce long-lasting antibody responses, debunking previous claims that mRNA-based vaccine immunity wanes quickly. The researchers examined in over 8,000 samples collected over three years in New York City how antibody responses changed after infections, during the first series of vaccinations, during booster vaccinations, and during breakthrough infections. They concluded that the major reason for breakthrough infections is the virus evolving to evade immunity rather than waning immunity. The results will, hopefully, not only encourage people to continue to get vaccine boosters but also to continue research into new vaccines and viral variants.

Interested in more global health innovation news? Every week GHTC scours media reports worldwide to deliver essential global health R&D news and content to your inbox. Sign up now to receive our weekly R&D News Roundup email. Last week, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced that it will give up to $14.9 million in funding for a new four-year project led by FIND to identify the most reliable tests to detect Lassa and Nipah virus infections, two zoonotic diseases that have, respectively, led to outbreaks in West Africa and South and Southeast Asia. The hope is the initiative will lead to the licensing and widespread availability of tests to help identify and contain future outbreaks early on, reducing cases and deaths of these serious diseases. This project will contribute to CEPI’s broader 100 Days Mission of rapidly developing tools against pandemic threats, as both diseases are among CEPI's priority pathogens.Researchers have developed a new synthetic antimicrobial compound, cresomycin, which can target many strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including multidrug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Many antibiotics work by binding to components of the bacteria that make proteins and disrupting them, but some bacteria have adapted resistance mechanisms to prevent this effect; cresomycin has improved binding ability. The researchers hope future studies will show that cresomycin and other compounds like it are safe for use in humans and effective against a variety of deadly resistant bacteria, paving the way for new solutions to stem the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance.A new study shows that Merck’s Ervebo Ebola vaccine was able to substantially lower the risk of people dying if they still developed the disease compared to those who were unvaccinated, even if they received the vaccine after they had already been infected. It is the first study to show that in addition to preventing infections, the vaccine can also save the lives of people who are already sick. The study, which looked at data from the 2018-2020 Ebola Zaire outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, found the fatality rate was halved among those vaccinated two or fewer days prior to illness compared to those who were unvaccinated. In addition to confirming the effectiveness of post-exposure use of Ervebo, the study also combated concerns that there might be interference between Ebola antibody treatments and the vaccine by showing that people who developed Ebola after being vaccinated were treated as effectively with antibody products as those who had not been vaccinated.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, GHTC staff embraced our health policy wonkiness by participating in the time-honored beltway tradition: #HealthPolicyValentines. For those who are unfamiliar, this tradition started in 2012 when a former staffer and Twitter aficionado at the US Department of Health and Human Services, Emma Sandoe, became inspired to “tweet one ‘health policy valentine’ every day until Valentine’s Day.” Other health policy experts soon joined in with their own poems and puns related to health care, and an annual tradition was born. Now every February, health policy wonks tweet out their most creative #HealthPolicyValentines. This year, GHTC staff joined in on the fun to share our passion for global health research and development (R&D). Here are our favorites:  Roses are red 🌹 Congress is divided ➗ But if it could deliver strong health R&D funding 💪💰 I’d be delighted 👍#HealthPolicyValentines— Marissa Chmiola (@MarissaChmiola) February 12, 2024 Roses are red Noma’s a place in DC But it was also recognized by @WHO As the latest NTD#HealthPolicyValentines #BeatNTDs— Marissa Chmiola (@MarissaChmiola) February 12, 2024 Roses are red 🌹 CRs are now “laddered” 🪜 Giving more headaches to health wonks 😣Whose brains already feel scattered 🤯#HealthPolicyValentines— Marissa Chmiola (@MarissaChmiola) February 12, 2024 Mosquitoes are spreading Into regions anew #Malaria is not only a threat in Africa It’s hit Maryland too.#HealthPolicyValentines — Philip Kenol (@Phil_kenol88) February 13, 2024 Penicillin was Sir Fleming’s great findThe field of medicine redefinedSo Fleming won a Nobel and changed historyBut the threat of #AMR is now no mysteryWe need new drugs, tests, & vaccines designedA historic poem from our colleague Anum Adrees! #HealthPolicyValentines 🧫💌— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) February 13, 2024 @USAID’s health R&D has saved millionsThat is a fact!But to supercharge it’s workCongress must pass the SIGHT Act#HealthPolicyValentines— Alex Long (@W_AlexLong) February 14, 2024 Roses are redValentine’s Day is blahI don’t get why CongressCan’t just authorize #PAHPA#HealthPolicyValentines— Alex Long (@W_AlexLong) February 14, 2024 From GHTC staff Anum: Valentine’s is in FebruaryMarch is the month afterRemember March 2020?Yeah, that was a disasterOf pandemic threats we should be warySay the disease forecastersSo let’s get pandemic-readyAnd develop those vaccines faster!#HealthPolicyValentines 💝— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) February 14, 2024 The times we live in are rather scaryBut today, we feel quite contraryWe love these #HealthPolicyValentinesThey give us hope that through our work, we can save lives!One last poem from our colleague Hannah! 💌💝— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) February 14, 2024

Interested in more global health innovation news? Every week GHTC scours media reports worldwide to deliver essential global health R&D news and content to your inbox. Sign up now to receive our weekly R&D News Roundup email. Two new reports from the AMR Industry Alliance, a coalition of companies and trade unions in industries working to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR), highlight both progress and setbacks in the field of antimicrobial resistance research and antibiotic development, as the threat of AMR rises globally. A survey of members demonstrated positive findings, including many industry members having implemented measures to support antimicrobial stewardship and efforts to increase antibiotic access in lower-resource countries, as well as having invested in AMR-relevant R&D. On the other hand, there has been a decline in AMR researchers over the last few decades, leading to less published research on AMR and fewer patents on new antibiotics, the decline particularly acute when compared to cancer and HIV/AIDS. The findings highlight the need for government and private sector incentives to provide adequate funding and investment for AMR research and novel antibiotic development, as well as for efforts to introduce young scientists to the field.The Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) recently announced $1.8 million in funding to biotechnology company Visby Medical to develop a portable rapid diagnostic test that detects Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the pathogen that causes gonorrhea, as well as its susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, an oral antibiotic that was formerly a go-to treatment, which can no longer treat resistant forms of the pathogen. The test would allow health care providers to rapidly test and refer patients to the right treatment while hopefully ensuring that ceftriaxone, the only remaining effective antibiotic against resistant N. gonorrhea, is properly managed. The funding will also support the development of a test for N. gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Trichomonas vaginalis in men based on urine samples.The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will provide up to $2 million in funding to German biotech company LenioBio GmbH for a preclinical proof-of-concept for using its commercially available, plant-based, and cell-free technology to produce proteins for use in clinical trials testing vaccines against epidemic and pandemic threats in 20 to 40 days. If proven successful, this approach could greatly reduce the time it traditionally takes to manufacture vaccine proteins using other methods, which would be a major boon to CEPI’s 100 Days Mission to develop vaccines against novel pathogens with pandemic potential within 100 days of identification. The easy-to-use technology could also be rolled out for use in remote or low-resource settings, allowing greater availability of and access to future vaccines in those settings.