WHO research highlights top pathogens that urgently need new vaccines as part of its list.

Today’s release from the World Health Organization (WHO) and eBioMedicine highlights 17 pathogens which cause diseases in communities as high priorities for new vaccine development. The WHO study represents an unprecedented global effort to systematically rank endemic pathogens according to criteria that included regional disease burden, antimicrobial resistance risk and socioeconomic impact. This study confirms longstanding priorities in vaccine R&D for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis – three diseases responsible for taking more than 2.5 million lives annually combined. This study also highlights that pathogens, including Group A streptococcus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, should be top disease control priorities across regions – thus underscoring the need to develop vaccines against pathogens which have become resistant to antimicrobials. “Too often global decisions regarding new vaccines have been determined solely on return on investment, rather than by how many lives may be saved in vulnerable communities,” according to Dr Kate O’Brien of WHO’s Department for Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals. “This study draws upon expertise and data gleaned from across a broad regional presence to examine vaccines that would not only greatly decrease disease prevalence in communities today but would also drastically decrease medical costs that families and health systems experience.” WHO conducted an international and regional expert consultation process with experts from all regions. Their survey identified factors most significant when making vaccine selection decisions; analysis combined this preference data with regional data led to identification of top 10 priority pathogens per region of WHO. Regional lists were then combined into one global list that comprises 17 priority endemic pathogens for which new vaccine research, development and use is urgently required. This WHO global priority list supports Immunization Agenda 2030’s objective of making vaccines accessible across regions for maximum protection from serious illnesses. This list provides an equitable and transparent evidence base to establish regional and global agendas for new vaccine R&D and manufacturing, providing academics, funders, manufacturers and countries a clear roadmap of areas in which R&D could have maximum impact. This global prioritization exercise for endemic pathogens builds upon the WHO R&D blueprint for epidemics, which identified pathogens with potential to spark epidemics or pandemics – such as COVID-19 or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). WHO released its inaugural Report of Endemic Pathogens as part of their efforts to assess research needs of low and middle income countries for immunization programs, inform global vaccine R&D agenda planning processes and accelerate priority vaccine development and uptake – especially against pathogens that cause the greatest public health burden and socioeconomic impacts.