WHO endorses first malaria vaccine 

Mosquito photo by Skyler Ewing from Pexels

The World Health Organization (WHO) has backed the first malaria vaccine, which could be especially beneficial in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa with moderate to high malaria transmission rates. In 2019, malaria caused 409,000 deaths, according to WHO. 

The vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) specifically targets plasmodium falciparum, a malaria strain common in sub-Saharan Africa. Plasmodium falciparum tends to be more dangerous and resistant to antimalarial drugs than other plasmodium species.

“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement. “Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.” 

WHO recommended that el…

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  • October 6, 2021
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How AI technology can democratize clinical trials in oncology

While drug developers continue to develop promising investigational cancer drugs, conducting clinical research in oncology remains difficult. Here’s how AI-enabled software can help. 

AI image courtesy of Pixabay

The statistics on inadequate trial recruitment and endemic challenges in oncology clinical trials are well known. They have only gotten worse over the past 20 years. While the number of cancer treatments has nearly quadrupled in that time period from 421 to 1,489, cancer drugs take 30–40% longer than other indications to gain approval and 80% of oncology clinical trials fail to meet enrollment timelines. Over this period, trial complexity has also increased due to more comprehensive trial designs (e.g., multi-cohort, basket and umbrella studies), precision medicine studies requiring gene, RNA or protein biomarker assays and the increasing quantity and sophistication of desired endpoints.

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  • June 4, 2021
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