MCC CEO Daniel W. Yohannes Leads United States Delegation to Ghana Presidential Inauguration

Washington – Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO Daniel W. Yohannes led the U.S. presidential delegation to Accra, Ghana, to attend the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama on January 7.

Yohannes and the delegation met with President Mahama on January 6 to congratulate him on behalf of President Obama and the American people. They discussed Ghana’s robust economic performance and its key role in promoting stability across Africa. President Mahama expressed his gratitude for the strong U.S.-Ghana relationship and his hope that a second MCC compact with Ghana could be finalized quickly.

Other members of the delegation included:

U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Gene Cretz Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former Ambassador to Ghana Donald Teitelbaum.

“Today is a day of celebration in Ghana,” Yohannes said. “The recent free, fair and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections are additional reminders of why Ghana is recognized as a leader of democratic governance in Africa. The United States looks forward to our continued work with President Mahama and his administration to advance our mutual interests.”

Ghana successfully completed a five-year compact with MCC in February 2012. The $547 million compact is helping reduce poverty through strategic investments in Ghana’s infrastructure and agricultural sectors. The MCC partnership with Ghana is expected to provide economic opportunities for more than 1.2 million Ghanaians.

Ghana, one of four countries selected to participate in the U.S. Government’s Partnership for Growth, is currently in the process of developing a second MCC compact that will focus on the power sector.

Yohannes also met with delegations from countries currently implementing (Burkina Faso and Senegal) and developing (Benin, Liberia, Niger, and Sierra Leone) MCC compacts.

For more information about MCC and its programs around the world, go to www.mcc.gov

*********

This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and Inovio Pharmaceuticals Partner to Accelerate Development of Malaria Vaccines and Innovative Delivery Technologies

WASHINGTON, DC and Blue Bell, PA (January 7, 2013)—The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: INO) today announced a follow-on collaboration to advance malaria vaccine development and new vaccination delivery technologies. Researchers will test whether a novel vaccine approach that combines genetically engineered DNA with an innovative vaccine delivery technology called electroporation could induce an immune response in humans that protects against malaria parasite infection. Malaria is a deadly disease that still kills more than 500,000 children under age 5 every year. MVI accelerates the development of malaria vaccines by joining its scientific, managerial, and field expertise with companies, universities, and governments to develop malaria vaccines and continue to test and invest in those with the most promise. This follow-on agreement for clinical development builds on a 2010 research and development collaboration between Inovio and MVI. Inovio researchers and their academic collaborators developed novel DNA plasmids targeting multiple malaria parasite antigens and conducted studies in rodents to demonstrate induction of broad immune responses. The success of these studies resulted in an expanded collaboration, in which further testing demonstrated potent T cell and antibody responses in other animal models. This DNA-based vaccine approach involves delivery of plasmid DNA by electroporation. Electroporation deploys controlled electrical impulses to create temporary pores in a cell membrane, allowing uptake of the synthetic DNA. The cell then uses the DNA’s instructions to produce proteins that mimic the presence of the malaria pathogen, with the aim of inducing an immune response that provides protection against malaria. “We are excited to bring this innovative delivery technology into clinical testing to see whether the compelling immune responses seen in animal models translate to humans,” said Dr. David C. Kaslow, director of MVI. “Determining if and how these potent immune responses lead to protection against infection with the most deadly form of malaria is a high priority in our efforts to develop a next generation malaria vaccine.” The clinical study will contain two study arms. The first study arm will include three antigens, two pre-erythrocytic (CSP and TRAP) and one blood stage (AMA-1), shown previously to protect against Plasmodium falciparum , the most deadly malaria strain. The second study arm will include two additional pre-erythrocytic-stage antigens (LSA-1 and CelTOS). Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO of Inovio, said, “We are pleased to work with MVI to advance into a human study with Inovio’s plasmid DNA. Our synthetic vaccine platform has produced vaccine candidates against HPV, HIV, and influenza targets that have generated potent T cell immune responses observed in human clinical studies. Using the same platform technology, we have now generated encouraging data with preclinical testing of our malaria antigen plasmids. We are excited to work with our collaborators at MVI toward the ultimate goal of conquering malaria.” The focus on vaccines that deliver multiple antigens simultaneously is a leading approach to developing highly effective malaria vaccines. The Inovio platform is technically well suited to deliver multiple target antigens and has effectively demonstrated in preclinical studies an ability to induce potent immune responses to these antigens. This is one of a series of platforms MVI plans to evaluate for its capacity to induce immune responses that confer protection from malaria infection in the human challenge model. The Phase 1/2a clinical trial, which will begin in early 2014, will test Inovio’s plasmid DNA and electroporation technology in approximately 30 individuals, as part of what is known as a challenge trial by controlled human malaria infection. Volunteers will be administered the DNA and then exposed to the malaria parasite through the bite of infected mosquitoes to see whether this approach prevents infection. If successful, this trial would provide valuable information that may further the development of a highly efficacious vaccine against malaria. ********* This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.

UNICEF tender to support Middle Income Countries access to affordable new vaccines

COPENHAGEN, 3 January 2013 – To help improve global access to new vaccines that protect children against the leading killers of pneumonia and diarrhoea, UNICEF is inviting manufacturers to participate in a tender that will help establish affordable, sustainable supplies of Pneumococcal conjugate and Rotavirus vaccines for Middle Income Countries from 2013 to 2015. 

The tender also calls for manufacturers’ proposals for the Human Papillomavirus vaccine to protect against the main cause of cervical cancer.

The disparity between the amounts Low Income and Middle Income Countries pay for the same vaccine can be significant.

“The current market prices of new vaccines put these products out of reach for many countries whose economies have transitioned from ‘Low’ to 'Middle’ Income over the last 20 years,” said Shanelle Hall, Director of UNICEF’s Supply Division. “This tender highlights work with the UN World Health Organization, industry, governments and partners to establish affordable, sustainable price levels for countries that are not eligible for international financial support to introduce these new and important life-saving vaccines."

For countries that wish to continue to purchase on their own, UNICEF, through this tender, will improve pricing transparency by publishing reference price levels, product profiles and characteristics. This information will serve as the basis for negotiations between interested governments and manufacturers. The final price would be independently contracted.

“Middle Income Countries have long-established, robust national immunization programmes that have contributed to dramatic reductions in child deaths and disability from diseases such as measles and polio over the past two decades,” said Ms. Hall.

“Making sure that children in Middle Income Countries have access to a new generation of life-saving supplies is critical. This tender builds on industry's commitment to improved access and sustainable pricing consistent with the tenets of tiered pricing. Our goal is to help catalyse a more efficient and healthy market, which combined with increasing country commitment, will serve children in the decades to come,” she added.

The World Bank classifies a Middle Income Country as a country with a per capita Gross National Income between US$1,026 and US$12,475. Today, Middle Income Countries are home to 75 per cent of the world’s poor who live on less than US$2 a day.

Middle Income governments that have so far expressed an indicative interest in the outcome of this tender include: Albania, Botswana, Cape Verde, Egypt, Gabon, Jordan, Lebanon, Moldova, Morocco, Namibia, the State of Palestine,  the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Syria, Tunisia and Turkmenistan.

UNICEF is awaiting manufacturers' responses and expects to begin issuing purchase orders on behalf of subscribing countries as early as June 2013.

The Request for Proposal RFP-DAN-2012-501580 for Pneumococcal, Rotavirus and Human Papillomavirus Vaccines is available here: http://www.unicef.org/supply/index_66941.html. Suppliers, please note that the deadline is 16:00 (Copenhagen time) 31 January 2013.

UNICEF’s strategy for vaccine procurement in Middle Income Countries is presented here:http://www.unicef.org/supply/index_66348.html

*********
This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.