Communication & Advocacy

Top drugmakers have joined with governments and nonprofits around the world to launch an alliance that’ll take a proactive approach to potential deadly outbreaks.

Dubbed the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the group has netted $460 million in funding with the aim to initially focus on the MERS-CoV, Lassa and Nipah viruses.

For the first time, researchers have tested a Zika vaccine in animals that do not have a natural resistance to the virus. The synthetic DNA jab protected 100% of vaccinated animals from Zika infection, brain damage and death.

The meeting focused on sharing best practices for the development and evaluation of effective strategies to improve vaccination coverage.

The seasonal influenza vaccine market across the seven major markets (7MM) of the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Japan, will rise from $3.1 billion in 2015 to $4.3 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate of 3.3%, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

Australia will drop the term epidemic in regard to HIV/AIDS, citing fewer new cases in the past two decades and the advent of public awareness, diagnosis and antiretroviral treatments which have drastically changed the lifespan trajectory of those with the virus.