https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/all-news
Idaho health officials announce third measles case
News brief
Today at 3:41 p.m.
Lisa Schnirring
Topics
Measles
Idaho health officials yesterday announced the state's third recent case, which involves an unvaccinated child from Bonner County, located in the state's far-north panhandle.
In a statement, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) and the Panhandle Health District said there are no known links between the new infection and two other recently announced cases.
Local spread likely
Christine Hahn, MD, state epidemiologist and the DHW's public health medical director, said, with no links between the cases in northern Idaho or travel outside their communities, it's likely that measles is circulating in the community. "As we've seen with other states around the nation, cases can begin to multiply quickly."
The United States this year, with 1,375 infections, has recorded the most measles cases since the country achieved elimination status in 2000. Idaho is the most recently affected state. The pace of infections has slowed along with the wind-down of the large West Texas outbreak; however, smaller localized outbreaks and a small but steady stream of travel-linked cases continue to be reported.
CARB-X funds development of vaccine against E coli infections
News brief
Today at 3:07 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Antimicrobial Stewardship
E coli
Adult (non-flu) Vaccines
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) announced today that it is awarding $3 million to Swiss biotechnology start-up Baxiva AG.
The funding will help Baxiva further develop its leading program, a multivalent glycoconjugate vaccine that targets the most common serotypes associated with invasive extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli infections. The company's platform enables the rapid development of vaccines targeting serotype-specific polysaccharides of gram-negative bacteria.
E coli is a leading cause of urinary tract infections worldwide and a frequent cause of neonatal sepsis infections, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Novel prevention approach
The award is the latest from CARB-X's 2024 funding round, which aims to fill research and development (R&D) gaps in the global antibacterial development pipeline. One of the four themes of the funding round was novel approaches for the prevention of invasive diseases caused by E coli or Staphylococcus aureus.
"Vaccines are a powerful tool in the global effort to prevent infections and curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance," CARB-X R&D director Erin Duffy, PhD, said in a press release. "Baxiva's multivalent glycoconjugate vaccine project explores a range of novel polysaccharide antigens in vaccine candidate solutions, addressing a critical unmet need in infection prevention."
Since its launch in 2016, CARB-X has supported 115 early-stage R&D projects designed to prevent, treat, and diagnose antibiotic-resistant infections.
Poor countries pay more for essential drugs, have less availability, data suggest
News brief
Today at 12:51 p.m.
Mary Van Beusekom, MS
Topics
Resilient Drug Supply
The availability and affordability of essential medicines vary widely around the world, with wealthier countries seeing lower real prices than poorer ones after adjusting for purchasing power, according to a 2022 analysis of 87 high-, middle-, and low-income countries.
Published last week in JAMA Health Forum, the Brown University–led study examined data on the list prices and volumes of 549 essential medicines in 72 markets. The team also calculated the number of days of minimum-wage work required to pay for 1 month of treatment.
"Little is known about how the prices and affordability of medicines included on the World Health Organization's Model List of Essential Medicines vary across the globe," the authors wrote.
Lowest affordability in Africa, Southeast Asia
The availability of essential medications ranged from 225 (41%) in Kuwait to 438 (80%) in Germany. After accounting for differences in purchasing power, the average prices of essential medicines in Lebanon were 18.1% of those in Germany, while average US prices were 3.0 times higher than in Germany.
There is a need for international strategies aimed at achieving more equitable outcomes.
Countries' gross domestic product per capita was linked to nominal drug prices, indicating that wealthier countries generally had higher drug prices. But adjusting for the purchasing power of different currencies revealed an inverse association, suggesting that richer countries had lower real prices.
Drug affordability varied considerably, with the highest median affordability in Europe and the Western Pacific and the lowest in Africa and Southeast Asia. The most affordable of the eight medications used to treat major causes of death and disability were amoxicillin, ibuprofen, and salbutamol, which cost less than 1.2 days' minimum wage in all countries.
The least affordable treatment was the cancer drug paclitaxel; for example, residents of poorer countries had to work a median number of 40.9 days at minimum wage to pay for it.
"Many low- and middle-income countries paid higher prices for the same essential medicines compared to wealthier countries, placing a disproportionate cost burden on patients in poorer nations," the researchers concluded. "There is a need for international strategies aimed at achieving more equitable outcomes."
ALL BRIEFS
Idaho health officials announce third measles case
News brief
Today at 3:41 p.m.
Lisa Schnirring
Topics
Measles
Idaho health officials yesterday announced the state's third recent case, which involves an unvaccinated child from Bonner County, located in the state's far-north panhandle.
In a statement, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) and the Panhandle Health District said there are no known links between the new infection and two other recently announced cases.
Local spread likely
Christine Hahn, MD, state epidemiologist and the DHW's public health medical director, said, with no links between the cases in northern Idaho or travel outside their communities, it's likely that measles is circulating in the community. "As we've seen with other states around the nation, cases can begin to multiply quickly."
The United States this year, with 1,375 infections, has recorded the most measles cases since the country achieved elimination status in 2000. Idaho is the most recently affected state. The pace of infections has slowed along with the wind-down of the large West Texas outbreak; however, smaller localized outbreaks and a small but steady stream of travel-linked cases continue to be reported.
CARB-X funds development of vaccine against E coli infections
News brief
Today at 3:07 p.m.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Antimicrobial Stewardship
E coli
Adult (non-flu) Vaccines
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) announced today that it is awarding $3 million to Swiss biotechnology start-up Baxiva AG.
The funding will help Baxiva further develop its leading program, a multivalent glycoconjugate vaccine that targets the most common serotypes associated with invasive extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli infections. The company's platform enables the rapid development of vaccines targeting serotype-specific polysaccharides of gram-negative bacteria.
E coli is a leading cause of urinary tract infections worldwide and a frequent cause of neonatal sepsis infections, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Novel prevention approach
The award is the latest from CARB-X's 2024 funding round, which aims to fill research and development (R&D) gaps in the global antibacterial development pipeline. One of the four themes of the funding round was novel approaches for the prevention of invasive diseases caused by E coli or Staphylococcus aureus.
"Vaccines are a powerful tool in the global effort to prevent infections and curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance," CARB-X R&D director Erin Duffy, PhD, said in a press release. "Baxiva's multivalent glycoconjugate vaccine project explores a range of novel polysaccharide antigens in vaccine candidate solutions, addressing a critical unmet need in infection prevention."
Since its launch in 2016, CARB-X has supported 115 early-stage R&D projects designed to prevent, treat, and diagnose antibiotic-resistant infections.
Poor countries pay more for essential drugs, have less availability, data suggest
News brief
Today at 12:51 p.m.
Mary Van Beusekom, MS
Topics
Resilient Drug Supply
The availability and affordability of essential medicines vary widely around the world, with wealthier countries seeing lower real prices than poorer ones after adjusting for purchasing power, according to a 2022 analysis of 87 high-, middle-, and low-income countries.
Published last week in JAMA Health Forum, the Brown University–led study examined data on the list prices and volumes of 549 essential medicines in 72 markets. The team also calculated the number of days of minimum-wage work required to pay for 1 month of treatment.
"Little is known about how the prices and affordability of medicines included on the World Health Organization's Model List of Essential Medicines vary across the globe," the authors wrote.
Lowest affordability in Africa, Southeast Asia
The availability of essential medications ranged from 225 (41%) in Kuwait to 438 (80%) in Germany. After accounting for differences in purchasing power, the average prices of essential medicines in Lebanon were 18.1% of those in Germany, while average US prices were 3.0 times higher than in Germany.
There is a need for international strategies aimed at achieving more equitable outcomes.
Countries' gross domestic product per capita was linked to nominal drug prices, indicating that wealthier countries generally had higher drug prices. But adjusting for the purchasing power of different currencies revealed an inverse association, suggesting that richer countries had lower real prices.
Drug affordability varied considerably, with the highest median affordability in Europe and the Western Pacific and the lowest in Africa and Southeast Asia. The most affordable of the eight medications used to treat major causes of death and disability were amoxicillin, ibuprofen, and salbutamol, which cost less than 1.2 days' minimum wage in all countries.
The least affordable treatment was the cancer drug paclitaxel; for example, residents of poorer countries had to work a median number of 40.9 days at minimum wage to pay for it.
"Many low- and middle-income countries paid higher prices for the same essential medicines compared to wealthier countries, placing a disproportionate cost burden on patients in poorer nations," the researchers concluded. "There is a need for international strategies aimed at achieving more equitable outcomes."
ALL BRIEFS