LIVERPOOL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE

Experts predict a brighter future in combating HIV, with new treatments and a potential vaccine by 2025. Advances include long-lasting antiretroviral regimens and the promising drug lenacapavir, aiming to reduce transmission and improve lives. However, challenges like access, funding, and public demand remain.

A £2.7m partnership between Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Infection Innovation Consortium, and LifeArc will develop rapid diagnostic tests for Rift Valley Fever, a solution for cold storage limitations in low- and middle-income countries, and short-course treatments for neglected tropical diseases like Onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis.

The Institute for Resilient Health Systems (IRHS) was launched at LSTM’s 125th Anniversary Scientific Symposium to create resilient health systems worldwide by building a global network of researchers. IRHS aims to support health systems in anticipating and coping with uncertainties, focusing on factors that enable systems to prepare and respond to shocks while maintaining function. It will initially operate at LSTM, MLW, KEMRI, and CeSHHAR, with plans for phased geographic expansion.

iiCON is managing a £3.2 million MRC-funded trial to develop a protein-based pneumococcal vaccine against serotype 3 pneumococcus (SPN3), which is a major cause of disease and antibiotic resistance. The trial will use a controlled human infection model in Malawi, comparing the new vaccine to PCV13 and a placebo, aiming to prevent transmission and reduce antimicrobial resistance.

iiCON is managing a £3.2 million MRC-funded trial to develop a protein-based pneumococcal vaccine against serotype 3 pneumococcus (SPN3), which is a major global health concern due to high antibiotic resistance. The trial, in collaboration with ImmBio, will use a controlled human infection model (CHIM) in Malawi to test the vaccine's efficacy in preventing bacterial carriage, aiming to reduce antimicrobial resistance and potentially manufacture the vaccine locally.

The UK is establishing a £11 million EPSRC-funded HALo hub, led by the University of Liverpool, to become a global leader in long-acting therapeutics (LATs). HALo, involving multiple universities and healthcare trusts, aims to develop new LATs, engage the public, and ensure UK leadership in this healthcare field. LATs, already used in contraception and HIV therapy, promise to revolutionize disease treatment and healthcare management with single-dose administration.

Infex Therapeutics dosed the first NCFB patient in a Phase IIa study of RESP-X, a potential first-in-class anti-virulence antibody to treat chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients, aiming to reduce exacerbations. The trial is a 12-patient, double-blind, placebo-controlled study at the NIHR Clinical Research Facility in Liverpool.