News: Announcement

The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) has opened nominations for its 2018 Innovating for Impact Awards. Now in its second year, this initiative recognizes the research partnerships and political champions that help transform breakthrough scientific research into lifesaving drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, and other tools for devastating, unmet global health challenges. Awards will be presented in two categories: The PARTNERSHIP AWARD honors an innovative research and development (R&D) partnership that brings together multisector partners to advance a high-impact, game-changing global health technology. The partnership must have received federally funded research support or in-kind support from a US government agency. The CONGRESSIONAL CHAMPION AWARD honors two US Members of Congress whose actions have strengthened political will and advanced US efforts to develop technologies to fight the world’s most challenging diseases and health conditions. Nominations will be open until August 17, 2018. Awardees will be editorially selected by a committee of leaders from the global health and research communities. Honorees will be celebrated at a recognition dinner in Washington, DC this fall before an audience of policymakers, US government officials, media, and leaders of the global health and medical research communities. Last year’s awards honored Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK) for their leadership in advancing global health R&D and the partnership that developed the dapivirine microbicide ring—a woman-centered HIV prevention tool—for its efforts to advance this groundbreaking new technology.

The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) welcomes the publication today by the World Health Organization (WHO) of its first Essential Diagnostics List (EDL), a critical new tool to help guide governments on the vital diagnostic tests that should be made available through health care systems.Although diagnostics are a proven essential component of delivering quality care worldwide, prior to today WHO did not maintain a list of recommended diagnostic tools like it does for medicines through its Model List of Essential Medicines (EML). This action by WHO follows a global advocacy campaign, led by researchers at McGill University, University of Michigan, GHTC, FIND, and others, urging WHO to establish an EDL to help address global gaps in access to diagnostic tools and guide countries in procuring diagnostics needed to enable safe and appropriate use of essential medicines. Diagnostic tools are vital to ensuring patients receive effective treatment, enabling a rapid response to disease outbreaks, and reducing overuse of antibiotics to stem the rise of antimicrobial resistance. However, today many patients in low- and middle-income countries are unable to access appropriate diagnostic services. “No person should suffer or die because they cannot access appropriate diagnostic services,” said Jamie Bay Nishi, director of GHTC. “Yet, today this happens far too often. We applaud WHO for launching the first Essential Diagnostic List. It is a vital tool that will improve diagnostic access by helping countries more efficiently prioritize diagnostic needs and signaling to developers a demand for safe, affordable, quality diagnostic products.” The list released today by WHO focuses on in vitro diagnostics—tests that use human samples like blood, urine, or cells. It includes 113 products, 58 of which are intended for diagnosis of a range of common conditions, serving as an essential toolkit to enable appropriate screening and management of patients. The remaining 55 tests are intended to diagnose WHO “priority” diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, and hepatitis B and C. Like the EML—which has been in operation for four decades—the EDL is intended to guide countries as they develop or update their own essential diagnostic lists. The EDL was developed under the guidance of WHO’s newly established Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on In-Vitro Diagnostics. The agency has announced plans to continue to update the list on a regular basis and expand it significantly over the next few years to address other health areas. “WHO took an important step forward this week in launching the first Essential Diagnostic List,” said Nishi. “But as WHO itself noted, this is just the first step. It is important that WHO follow through on its pledge to expand the list to incorporate other vital health areas like antimicrobial resistance, emerging infectious diseases, and neglected tropical diseases. It’s also critical that WHO continue to explore ways to use future iterations of the EDL to identify unmet diagnostic needs and spur development of critically-needed tools that do not yet exist.”

The Trump Administration’s proposal to slash funding to fight global health threats like malaria, Ebola, and HIV/AIDS could cost states thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic investment and put the health of residents at risk, according to a new state-by-state analysis released today on Capitol Hill by the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC). This first-of-its-kind analysis quantifies how federal funding to create vaccines and treatments to combat deadly global diseases also benefits American states. “While the Administration claims cuts to global health research are putting America first, the data suggest otherwise,” said GHTC Director Jamie Bay Nishi. “US funding for global health research is not only saving lives worldwide, it’s also paying significant economic and health dividends across American states.” According to the analysis, US investments in global health research and development (R&D) from 2007 to 2015 generated considerable economic benefits for individual states—creating jobs and injecting millions of dollars into local economies. For example, in Maryland alone, US-funded global health research contributed US$2.5 billion to the state’s economy and created more than 30,700 jobs for its residents. Similarly, Georgia has these investments to thank for 5,800 local jobs and $349 million to its economy. The analysis also underscores the dangers of ignoring neglected diseases in an increasingly interconnected world by enumerating how these diseases—assumed by many to only afflict the world’s poorest—also affect individuals across every state. The state-by-state analysis includes data on well-known diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and Zika; but also lesser-known threats like dengue and chikungunya, which many do not realize have been locally transmitted in the United States. For example, Florida has seen 779 cases of dengue since 2010, including a local outbreak in 2009–2010 that sickened 88 people, as well as 1,216 cases of Zika since 2015, including 220 cases from local mosquito transmission. In addition to reporting the overall economic impact to each state of federal funding for global health R&D, the new analysis also documents how local universities and research institutions are benefiting from these investments and identifies private-sector companies within each state that are working to advance new innovations to combat long-standing and emerging global health challenges. Global and national benefits of global health R&D This state-by-state analysis builds upon a report released last year by GHTC and the health-oriented think tank, Policy Cures Research. The report, Return on innovation: Why global health R&D is a smart investment for the United States, examined the national and global impact of US spending on global health R&D. It found that from 2007 to 2015 alone, $14 billion in US government investments in global health innovations contributed to the advancement of numerous new technologies to combat dangerous global diseases, while also creating 200,000 new American jobs and generating $33 billion in US economic growth. The Return on innovation report revealed that while this spending may be directed at solving global health challenges, most of the money—89 cents of every dollar—stays in the United States, funding researchers and stimulating industry investments. Public funding for global health R&D under increased threat Despite the increase of health threats and the strong returns both at home and abroad from these investments, US government spending for global health R&D has been unreliable. According to the G-FINDER report, which tracks global funding for R&D for neglected diseases, outside the emergency allocation for the Ebola response, US public investment has been on the decline since 2012. While 2016 saw a modest uptick, investment remained $178 million below 2012 levels. Now, President Trump is proposing further deep cuts across the government’s global health and medical research portfolio for fiscal year (FY) 2019 and exploring ways to roll back prior years’ spending through presidential rescissions, which could target these same programs, though details remain unclear. Specifically, in its FY19 budget proposal, the Administration has called for a 36 percent cut, over FY18 enacted levels, to global health programs at the US Agency for International Development, which fund vital research to develop new health innovations for vulnerable communities worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control could see a 17 percent cut to the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, which develops tools to detect and fight deadly diseases abroad before they reach American shores, as well as a 16 percent cut in funding for its global health programs responsible for conducting critical disease surveillance and immunization activities. The budget also includes a 9 percent decrease to the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which funds important research on infectious disease threats like malaria, HIV/AIDS, and Zika. “We hope Congressional policymakers will see the wisdom to reject these dangerous cuts,” said Nishi. “Slashing funding for global health research will not only mark a retreat from America’s humanitarian and moral leadership in the world; it will also put the health of US citizens at risk and harm the economies of states.” Top 10 states benefiting from global health R&D investments Based on federal funding for global health R&D invested in state from 2007 to 2015 and jobs created as a result. Maryland: $2.5 billion | 30,700+ jobs New York: $916 million | 9,600+ jobs California: $876.4 million | 11,800+ jobs Virginia: $874.5 million | 9,700+ jobs Washington: $783.9 million | 9,700+ jobs Massachusetts: $731.1 million | 8,400+ jobs North Carolina: $410 million| 5,900+ jobs Pennsylvania: $352.8 million | 4,300+ jobs Georgia: $349.1 million | 5,800+ jobs Texas: $201.6 million | 3,100+ jobs  View data for all states on GHTC’s online data tool: http://www.ghtcoalition.org/in-your-state About the Global Health Technologies Coalition The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) works to save and improve lives by encouraging the research and development of essential health technologies. We bring together 30 nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and aligned businesses to advance policies to accelerate the creation of new drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and other tools that bring healthy lives within reach for all people. 

The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) announced today changes to its membership structure to better serve its existing membership and engage a broader group of global health research and development (R&D) stakeholders in its advocacy activities. Effective now, GHTC will begin offering three types of membership. Nonprofit and academic organizations, which currently comprise the GHTC membership, will change over to Advocate Members, and the coalition will introduce two new membership types—Associate Members for aligned private-sector companies and the Global Partners Network for counterpart nonprofits worldwide interested in the coalition’s multilateral advocacy. Effective immediately, GHTC will transition its existing member organizations to Advocate Members. In this role, these nonprofit members will continue to advise and help set the coalition’s US and multilateral advocacy strategy and priorities and operate as the core force driving forward GHTC’s advocacy activities through coalition working groups and direct engagement with policymakers. For the first time, GHTC will open its membership to private-sector companies whose work aligns with GHTC’s mission. As Associate Members, these private sector members will be able to inform and participate in certain coalition US advocacy activities, including joining public meetings and sign-on letters shaped by Advocate Members, as well as receive regular intelligence updates. To foster a network of advocacy organizations located around the world to inform and influence global health R&D policies at the multilateral level, GHTC has also launched the Global Partners Network. This membership type will be open to GHTC’s counterpart and aligned nonprofits and academic institutions in various countries and regions working to advance the global health R&D ecosystem. This network will share information on regional global health advocacy priorities and coordinate activities to advance supportive policies through key multilateral forums such as the World Health Organization, United Nations, and the G7/G20. “Creating new global health tools and getting them into the hands of people in need worldwide—more than ever—requires collaboration and partnership between multiple sectors and nations,” said Jamie Bay Nishi, GHTC’s Director. “GHTC is evolving its membership structure to better reflect this reality. We believe this new structure will encourage greater engagement in the coalition from a wider group of players in the global health R&D ecosystem, bringing both a broader and deeper set of perspectives and greater political force, as we work to advance policy solutions to accelerate the creation of new health technologies.” In addition to the new membership structure, GHTC has updated its institutional mission statement. GHTC’s Steering Committee approved the new membership structure and mission statement in February 2018 with the aim of increasing the impact and sustainability of the coalition. For more information about joining GHTC and membership benefits and pricing, email GHTC at jnishi@ghtcoalition.org.