The World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time published on Tuesday a list of 17 pathogens for which “vaccines are urgently needed”.
“We are doing this because we would like vaccine development to shift from being focused on commercial yield to regional and global health needs,” said Dr Mateusz Hasso-Agopsowicz, a WHO vaccine specialist. , during a press briefing.
This is the “first global effort to prioritize endemic pathogens based on criteria including regional disease burden, risk of antimicrobial resistance and socio-economic impact”, explains the WHO in a press release.
The development of vaccines against these 17 pathogens are at different stages, with some still in the research stage, such as for hepatitis C, while others are close to being approved by authorities. regulatory requirements, to be the subject of a political recommendation or to be introduced into the markets, as for the dengue virus.
These vaccines “would significantly reduce the diseases that greatly affect communities today” but “also the medical costs faced by families and health systems”, underlined in the press release Dr. Kate O’Brien, director of the Department of Vaccination. at the WHO.
In its choices, the WHO confirms long-standing priorities for research and development (R&D) on vaccines, notably against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis – three diseases which, collectively, kill almost 2.5 million deaths each year worldwide.
“Another example among the new priorities is Klebsiella pneumoniae, a bacteria associated with 790,000 deaths in 2019 and responsible for 40% of neonatal deaths due to blood infection (sepsis) in low-income countries,” the press release said. WHO.
Dr. Hasso-Agopsowicz explained that the 17 pathogens mainly affect low-income countries.
“What has generally happened in the past is that vaccine research and development has been influenced by the cost-effectiveness of new vaccines. This means that diseases that severely affect low-income areas unfortunately receive much less attention,” he said.
“With this list, we hope to give them direction. We give them direction,” he said.
