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EDCTP Update | November 2025 | | KALUMA trial confirms safety and efficacy of next-generation malaria therapy | | Novartis and the WANECAM-2 consortium announced that the KALUMA phase III trial has demonstrated GanLum (KLU156, ganaplacide/lumefantrine or GanLum) as a safe and effective treatment for uncomplicated malaria. The KALUMA trial, coordinated by the WANECAM-2 project and funded by the EDCTP2 programme, represents the first potential advance in malaria treatment in 25 years. | Pandemic PACT launches 100 Days Mission dashboard | |
The Pandemic PACT programme has launched the first in a series of interactive data dashboards—the 100 Days Mission (100DM) Dashboard—now available on the Pandemic PACT website.
The 100DM, supported by the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS), aims to accelerate the development of safe, effective and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines within the first 100 days of an emerging health threat. The new dashboard provides public access to data on health investments aligned with the 100DM’s objectives.
Pandemic PACT also serves as a data source for the G-Finder project run by Impact Global Health, contributing to the 100DM Scorecard, developed in partnership with IPPS. Ongoing collaboration will ensure a detailed mapping of investments, progress tracking, and identification of critical gaps.
| | Financial and project management training in Dakar for Global Health EDCTP3 beneficiaries | | The EDCTP Association and Global Health EDCTP3 conducted a three-day training on financial and project management of EDCTP3 projects in Mbour, Senegal, on 4-6 November 2025. Thirty participants from the Central and West Africa regions attended the training, which was led by Mr Abdoulie Barry, Executive Director and Director of Finance and Administration, and Dr Pauline Beattie, Operations Manager and Scientific Adviser, together with colleagues from Global Health EDCTP3. The training supports beneficiaries in completing and submitting high-quality reports and deliverables to Global Health EDCTP3. | | Launch webinar of the Research into Policy Toolkit | | The EDCTP Association and The Global Health Network (TGHN) organised a webinar on 13 November 2025 to launch a new open-access Research into Policy toolkit as part of the EDCTP Knowledge Hub. This practical resource is designed to support researchers, policymakers, and health leaders in working together to translate evidence into real-world impact. Dr Johanna Schaefer, Project Officer, presented on the collaboration between the EDCTP Association and the TGHN and provided an introduction to the research into the policy toolkit. The recording of the webinar, as well as the slides presented during the event, are available on the EDCTP Knowledge Hub website. | | EDCTP Association hosts PDP Funders Group meeting | | From 4 to 6 November 2025, the Product Development Partnership (PDP) Funders Group met in The Hague, the Netherlands, for a series of donor meetings with IAVI, EVI, GARDP and TB Alliance. The first day of these meetings was hosted by the EDCTP Association, followed by a joint meeting of the PDPs and PDP Funders Group, as well as the Dutch PDP Annual Meeting 2025, organised by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The EDCTP Association was represented at the meetings by Dr Debora Bade, Project Officer, Dr Montserrat Blazquez-Domingo, Senior Project Officer, and Daniela Pereira, Communications Officer. Global Health EDCTP3 was represented by Lara Pandya, Team Leader for Strategic Partnerships and Communications. | | MoxiMultiDoseMod: Accelerating elimination of river blindness | | River blindness, or onchocerciasis, remains one of the most debilitating and persistent neglected tropical diseases across Africa, threatening the health and well-being of millions. Despite decades of mass drug administration campaigns, current strategies have yet to fully eradicate the disease. Recent advancements—most notably the approval and expanded use of moxidectin—offer new hope. Find out more about the work of the MoxiMultiDoseMod project, which is accelerating efforts to eliminate river blindness and improve the lives of children and communities in affected regions. | | EDCTP-funded malaria research highlighted at ASTMH 2025: Advancing next-generation malaria treatments | | Significant advances in malaria drug development were showcased at the 2025 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting. Three EDCTP2-supported malaria clinical research programmes demonstrated significant progress toward next-generation malaria therapies, which are urgently needed to combat the spread of antimalarial drug resistance across sub-Saharan Africa and to address the persistent global disease burden. | | PEDVAC-iNTS project: 2025 Annual Meeting | | |
The PEDVAC-iNTS project’s 2025 Annual Meeting took place on 18-19 November 2025 at the historic Palazzo del Rettorato, University of Siena, Italy. The project focuses on developing a new vaccine to protect against invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis—a life-threatening bacterial infection prevalent among children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Over the two-day meeting, participants presented recent results and discussed the project's progress as it reached its fourth year. Ms Michelle Nderu, Project Officer at the EDCTP Association, attended the event remotely and outlined EDCTP’s expectations for PEDVAC-iNTS, highlighting key priorities to guide the project’s future work and impact under EDCTP funding.
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EDCTP is a member of Europe PMC. This enables EDCTP-funded researchers to share their publications via one central location. Sharing publications by EuropePMC also ensures compliance with EDCTP grant requirements to make publications openly accessible as soon as possible. Submit your manuscript through Europe PMC Plus.
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Plos Medicine: Diagnostic accuracy of the WHO tuberculosis treatment decision algorithms for children with presumptive tuberculosis: An individual participant data meta-analysis. Olbrich L, et al. 18 November 2025
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Journal of Community Health: Longitudinal Assessment of Asymptomatic Malaria Infections in a Suburban Community in Lagos, Nigeria. Owoloye A, et al. 13 November 2025
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IJTLD Open: Post-TB treatment completion experiences of children, adolescents, and caregivers from Cape Town. Monin C, et al. 12 November 2025
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Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases: Performance evaluation of the diaxxoPCR system for rapid and user-friendly stool-based diagnosis of trichuriasis, ascariasis and strongyloidiasis in Mozambique. Messa Jr A, et al. 11 November 2025
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Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation: Early versus delayed enteral nutrition in critically ill children under 12 years of age: an economic evaluation. Manthalu G, et al. 11 November 2025
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Tropical Medicine and Health: Pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy of an optimized dose of artemether-lumefantrine in the treatment of acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in neonates and infants of less than 5 kg body weight: a multicentre, open-label, single-arm phase 2/3 study (CALINA). Wounounou G, et al. 6 November 2025
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PLOS Global Public Health: Integrated health checks as a person-centred approach to systematic screening of household tuberculosis contacts: A realist-informed mixed-methods study. Calderwood CJ, et al. 3 November 2025
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Scientific Reports: Decision-making and acceptability of subcutaneously administered broadly neutralising monoclonal antibodies for HIV prevention amongst CAPRISA 012A trial participants in Durban, South Africa. Humphries H, et al. 31 October 2025
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Open Research Europe: Immunomodulatory effect of Moringa oleifera and Phyllanthus niruri extracts on anti-HBV cytokine production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Asare B, et al. 27 October 2025
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Frontiers in Medicine: Cervical microbiota diversity and functional shifts in the development of cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Cancio-Suárez MR, 24 October 2025
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Journal of Clinical Medicine: Diagnostic Performance of Second-Generation Fujifilm SILVAMP TB LAM in Nigerian Adults with Presumptive Tuberculosis. Tytarenko N, et al. 23 October 2025
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BMC Infectious Diseases: A longitudinal study of antibody responses to endemic HCoV and novel SARS-CoV-2 among mother-child pairs in Zambia. Makabilo Laban N, et al. 18 October 2025
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Open Forum Infectious Diseases: Field Evaluation of Mobile Molecular Differential Tests in DRC and Nigeria. Faye M, et al. 8 October 2025
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NAR Molecular Medicine: High-affinity A/T-rich DNA binding with a dimeric bisbenzamidine. Bouzada D, et al. 4 October 2025
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The East African Health Research Journal: Changes in Sexual Risk-taking Behaviours Among Men After Participating in the PEST4MEN HIV Self-Testing Intervention in Two Fishing Communities in Central Uganda. Matovua JKB, et al. 30 September 2025
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Science Advances: Systems analysis unravels a common rural-urban gradient in immunological profile, function, and metabolic dependencies. Manurung MD, et al. 30 April 2025
| | Training and funding opportunities | | |
Free access to SEPTRE platform
Researchers from low- and middle-income countries can still apply for one of the remaining free three-year licenses for the SPIRIT Electronic Protocol Tool and Resource (SEPTRE) platform. SEPTRE is an online resource designed to help researchers create, manage, and register clinical trial protocols that comply with SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) guidelines.
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Research Communication course
A free, online training course is now available to help researchers bridge the gap between evidence generation and real-world impact. Developed by TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, the new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) provides researchers with practical skills to increase the uptake of their findings for policy and practice changes.
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Impact on TB: Partnerships joining forces to combat TB | 9 December 2025
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, and the rise of drug-resistant TB strains makes treatment increasingly difficult. Three research partnerships — TRIC TB, bETo-TB, and UNITE4TB — have collaborated to develop a promising new anti-TB therapy combining alpibectir and ethionamide, which could revolutionise treatment outcomes. The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) is organising a webinar on 9 December 2025 at 14:00 (CET) to discuss how this molecule was developed and trialled within these collaborative projects, strengthening health resilience and adding another weapon to the global arsenal against antimicrobial-resistant infections.
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9th World Conference on Research Integrity | 3-6 May 2026
The 9th World Conference on Research Integrity will be held in Vancouver, Canada, from 3-6 May 2026. Open to all disciplines and career stages, the WCRI engages universities, research institutes, funders, publishers, and governments in lively discussions. The programme features a mix of research findings, reflections, and policy development. Abstract submissions are invited on all areas of research integrity, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence, Research Security, and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. The submission deadline is 15 October 2025.
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18th World Congress of Bioethics (WCB) of the International Association of Bioethics | 8-10 July 2026
The Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics will host the 18th World Congress of Bioethics (WCB) from 8-10 July 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. This marks the first time the Congress is held in Africa, supported by leaders from various African countries through the Congress Africa Committee. The theme is “Comforting and Disturbing Bioethics,” and will include full and short oral presentations, posters, workshops, and panel sessions.
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EDCTP Communications thanks everyone who provided information for this Update. |
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