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Advances for diseases afflicting the world’s poorest citizens
I’m optimistic that 2020 will be a banner year for global health R&D (research and developement), showing it’s possible to bring the latest in scientific innovation to bear on diseases that affect the world’s poorest citizens. First-generation microbiome-directed foods will show promise in improving newborn gut function. Machine learning algorithms will revolutionize drug discovery and yield promising new compounds for malaria and TB. A new class of remarkably long-acting antiretrovirals for HIV prevention will enter late-phase development. We’ll learn the essential components of human breast milk and how they vary across geographies. Next-generation point-of-care diagnostics will be tested in primary care settings in developing countries. And antenatal corticosteroids will be rolled out around the world to treat lung disorders that are a major cause of newborn mortality. We’ll need these tools and many more like them to meet or beat the best-case scenarios of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Trevor Mundel, president of global health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Clinical trial of HIV vaccine will produce vital data
We’re going to see early results in 2020 from a clinical trial testing a novel HIV vaccine candidate designed to stimulate the immune system along the path to producing antibodies that can neutralize a broad range of HIV variants. Not only will these results provide critical information for the HIV vaccine field about whether and how we should further pursue this approach, they may also set a precedent for how structure-based immunogen design can be applied to developing new vaccines against other disease targets that have so far eluded successful vaccine development efforts.
sciences
Medical advances expected in 2020
Flashmag January 2020 www.flashmag.net