The government is aiming to secure homegrown supplies of the mRNA technology that has proved a crucial weapon in the fight against Covid-19 and offers the prospect of transforming treatment for other ...conditions such as cancer. Javid had sought and secured “a personal mandate” from Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, to negotiate the deal, he added. Johnson said the investment with Moderna would “guarantee jabs in the arms” and create jobs, as the Boston-based biotech develops vaccines for other respiratory diseases including flu and respiratory syncytial virus.
A team of international experts ranging from epidemiologists to computer modellers should be created to quickly identify global health threats and improve co-ordination between countries, Bill Gates ...has said, warning that greater investment is needed to avoid another pandemic. “The amount of money involved is very small compared to the benefit and it will be a test: can global institutions take on new responsibilities in an excellent way, even in a time period where US-China relations are tough, US-Russia is extremely tough?” said Gates The WHO had “less than 10 full-time people” working on outbreak preparedness, said Gates, adding that “even those people are distracted with many other activities”. Gates, whose book How to Prevent the Next Pandemic is published on Tuesday, expressed his hope that the UK would not further reduce its contribution to foreign aid funding, suggesting this could lead to other nations engaging in their own retrenchment which could jeopardise key global public health programmes.
Drops in cancer diagnosis — as screenings were delayed or patients feared seeking care — created a backlog of cases that also made it harder to recruit clinical trial participants. Charles Fuchs, ...global head of oncology at Basel-based Roche, said his company changed the way it delivered medicines, from reducing the number of infusions to cut the risk of hospital attendance, to using more local sites so patients did not have to travel as far. Jeff Legos, global head of oncology, said the company analysed data showing areas in which there were Covid outbreaks in order to send trial participants to different facilities.
