Years of progress in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), the world´s second biggest infectious killer since the emergence of COVID-19, together with the rise of antimicrobial drug resistance has made vaccine development against the disease all the more urgent, scientists will be told next week at the 6th Global Forum on TB Vaccines (virtual, hosted by Toulouse, France).
The event is being held under the high patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron and under the patronage of French Minister for Solidarity and Health Olivier Véran, and is an official event of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU.
“The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the prowess that can be achieved when political will, financial and human resources, expertise, research and innovation come together to address a global health crisis,” said Forum Co-Chair Olivier Neyrolles, director of the Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology (IPBS) in Toulouse, France, the host institution of the Global Forum.
“This crisis should serve as a lesson for the response to all global health emergencies, especially tuberculosis.”
100 years after the discovery of the BCG TB vaccine, the development of an effective vaccine that will adequately protect adolescent and adults from a disease that affects 10 million people each year and kills 4000 people daily, remains a priority.
Several promising TB vaccine candidates are in late stage development and could soon become the first new TB vaccines to enter the market 100 years after the introduction of BCG.
The response to COVID-19 has demonstrated that it’s how quickly and creatively we act that counts and, as we´ve seen, the rapid development of vaccines and the formation of innovative partnerships have been game changers,” said Mark Feinberg, CEO & President of IAVI and Co-Chair of the Global Forum.
“In particular, the speed with which mRNA vaccines can be produced offers real hope that, through application of cutting-edge science, we can harness a more nimble and responsive approach to vaccine design and testing.,” Science is our way out of the tuberculosis epidemic.”
The extraordinary pace of the development of numerous vaccines to protect people from COVID-19 and the urgency of the current rollout across the globe continue to receive unprecedented attention. Until the pandemic hit in 2020, tuberculosis (TB) was the world´s biggest infectious disease killer.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us again that an airborne disease somewhere can in no time become an airborne disease everywhere,” said Nick Drager, Executive Director of the Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI) and a Co-Chair of the Global Forum.
“Learning from the success of COVID19 vaccine efforts – it is essential that we accelerate the development of the most promising TB vaccine candidates and continue to innovate and diversify the TB vaccine pipeline for second generation TB vaccine candidates.”
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is now killing more people each year than HIV or malaria and is tipped to be the world´s most lethal health challenge by 2050. TB drug resistance accounts for nearly a third of the 3,500 daily deaths from AMR.
“There’s a very real danger we face of backsliding that demands urgency in TB vaccine development, especially urgent investment,” said David Lewinsohn, Chair of the Stop TB Partnership Working Group on New TB Vaccines and a Co-Chair of the Global Forum.
The development costs of COVID-19 vaccines ran into the many billions of dollars. Despite a pledge by world leaders in 2018 to increase funding of TB research, only US$107 million is spent on TB vaccine development each year, largely because today it predominantly affects people in lower and middle income countries (LMICs).
“There are a number of promising vaccine candidates ready to enter Phase 3 trials, so the science is there. What is missing, is the ambition to end TB. We need to get moving. We need better vaccines, and we need them soon,” said Lewinsohn.
The Global Forum on TB Vaccines is the world’s largest gathering of stakeholders striving to develop new vaccines to prevent TB and reviews the state of the field, shares the latest research findings, and identifies new and innovative approaches to TB vaccine R&D.
The Global Forum program addresses the full spectrum of issues relevant to TB vaccine research and development (R&D), from basic research to clinical trials, manufacturing, regulatory, access, and advocacy. The forum is convened by the Stop TB Partnership Working Group on New TB Vaccines and organized with IAVI and the Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI).
The official programme includes presentations and speeches in the Forum Opening and Closing Session from the following health experts and political and community leaders:
· Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
· Frédérique Vidal, French Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation
· Olivier Véran, French Minister for Solidarity and Health
· Mansukh Mandaviya, Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare
· Budi Gunadi Sadikin Indonesian Minister of Health
· Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health (USA)
· Philippe Sansonetti, Emeritus Professor, Institut Pasteur and College de France
· Jean-Eric Paquet, Director-General, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
- Carol Nawina, CITAMPlus (Zambia)
· Tereza Kasaeva, Director, Global TB Programme, WHO
· Seth Berkley, CEO, GAVI Alliance
· Marisol Touraine, Chair of the Board of Directors of UNITAID
· Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
· Stéphanie Seydoux, French Ambassador for Global Health
