The World Health Organization has published the first report on the portfolio of vaccines currently in development to prevent infections caused by bacterial pathogens antimicrobial resistant (AMR), in which he requests to speed up the trials of vaccines that are in the last stages of development and, in turn, maximize the use of existing vaccines.
And it is that, it is estimated that each year there are 1.27 million deaths from antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change and no longer respond to medications.
In this regard, the WHO has identified 61 candidate vaccines that are in various stages of clinical development, including some in the later stages of development that address diseases included in the list of priority bacterial pathogens that the WHO has prioritized for research and development. Although the report describes that these vaccines have a high viability of development, it warns that the majority will not be available in the short term.
Vaccine against pneumococcal disease
“Infection prevention through vaccination reduces the use of antibiotics, which is one of the main drivers of AMR. However, of the top six bacterial pathogens responsible for AMR deaths, only one, pneumococcal disease (‘streptococcus pneumoniae’) has a vaccine. Ensuring affordable and equitable access to life-saving vaccines such as pneumococcal vaccines is urgently needed,” said Hanan Balkhy, WHO Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance.
At the same time, the report calls for “equitable and global” access to vaccines that already exist, especially among populations that need them most in resource-limited settings. Vaccines are now available against four priority bacterial pathogens: pneumococcal disease (‘Streptococcus pneumoniae’), Hib (‘Haemophilus influenzae type b’), tuberculosis (‘mycobacterium tuberculosis’) and typhoid fever (‘Salmonella Typho’).
“Current ‘Bacillus Calmette-Guérin’ (BCG) Vaccines against tuberculosis (TB) they do not protect adequately and the development of more effective vaccines must be accelerated. The remaining three vaccines are effective and we need to increase the number of people who receive them to contribute to a reduction in the use of antibiotics and prevent more deaths,” emphasizes the United Nations body at work.
Similarly, the report examines some of the challenges facing vaccine innovation and development, including pathogens associated with hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). These include the difficulty in defining the target population among all patients admitted to the hospital, the cost and the complexity of efficacy trials of vaccines, as well as the lack of regulatory and/or policy precedents for HAI vaccines.
“Vaccine development is expensive and scientifically challenging, often with high failure rates, and for successful candidates, complex manufacturing and regulatory requirements take more time. We need to harness the lessons from COVID vaccine development and accelerate our search for vaccines to address AMR,” said Kate O’Brien, director of the WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.
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