Bill Gates announces $750M contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Malaria & TB

Bill Gates  just announced in Davos (Switzerland), during the World Economic Forum, a donation of $750M to the Global Fund. This big amount should be to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, to prevent people to get infected with Malaria and to ameliorate the access to TB diagnostics and treatments. In the bad times we are living, we all should celebrate such great news!

Our last paper: dowloaded it now!

Evaluation of a quick and easy model to determine the intrinsic ability of clinical strains to generate active TB has been set by assuming that this is linked to the fitness of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain at the innate phase of the infection. Thus, the higher the bacillary load, the greater the possibility of inducting liquefaction, and thus active TB, once the adaptive response is set. Up to 7 clinical M.tuberculosis strains isolated in Spain within the last 10 years were evaluated using this model. The results showed that the fitness obtained after low dose aerosol administration in the presence of the innate immune response is the most predictive factor for determining the virulence of clinical strains, and we do consider this gives support to a mechanism of the induction of active TB derived from the dynamic hypothesis of latent tuberculosis infection.
This work have been possible with the involvement of several groups within the CIBERES Spanish Consortium, the MOSIMBIO group and the European Community’s 7th Framework Programme (STOPLATENT-TB project, Grant Agreement 200999).
Do you want to read it? Please downloaded it HERE!

TB Resistant to all drugs: THE monster

We all understand this concept. But can we say a strain is resistant to all drugs taking into account there is not an internationally accepted and standardized drug susceptibility test? And what about new drugs being issued? But it is true that few cases of TB resistant to all drugs tested have been reported in Asia lately.
Do you want to read what WHO has to say about it? They have just recently issued a Frequently Asked Questions document. Would you like to read it? Please click here!

Do you want to read the last paper on the subject? Please click here!

And again, RUTI on the radio!

Dr. Cardona continues to take advantage of the media to make advocacy. This time, summoned by the radio programme Eureka! to talk about RUTI and its promising results and news.
Do you want to hear the interview? (in catalan)
If yes, please click here to download the podcast!

Prepare yourselves again, the World TB Day 2012 is approaching!

The World TB Day 2012 Campaign has started with the website created by the StopTBPartnership. This is a critical year, as only 3 years are left to the 2015 deadline and still lots of questions should be anwered. What about children? coinfection with HIV? what about new vaccines, treatments? MDR/XDR? And all this with the finantial crisis overwhelming us all, the grants being more and more restricted and the governments shortening the money allocated to research. Tough times indeed, but also the perfect moment to react and to fight even harder the elements. And yes, with less money and more concerns, but ah, 2012 it’s time to be strong, courageous, enthousiastic, more now than ever!

Dr. Cardona, the “Recerca en Acció” Interview

“Recerca en Acció” is a portal made by the Catalan Government through the foundation devoted to support research (http://www.recercaenaccio.cat/agaur_reac/AppJava/en/index.jsp), with the aim to  make the broader public to learn about the research work being carried out around Catalonia, no matter the discipline.  Dr. Cardona was interviewed some days ago by the “Recerca en acció” team, this resulting in two videos with different content: Tuberculosis in general and especially Latent Tuberculosis (video 1) and the vaccine RUTI®, focusing in its clinical development (video 2).

The videos (in catalan) can now be viewed at the following link:

http://www.recercaenaccio.cat/agaur_reac/AppJava/ca/noticies/infocus/noticia/20111214-entrevistem-pere-1.jsp

it’s official: a Phase III CT with RUTI will be launched!

Because besides a good product, money is needed.

The media published yesterday the entry of a new group (TGT)  in Archivel Farma (the biotech developing RUTI). TGT has bought the 41,8% of the company owned by Fons Innocat (managed by Highgrowth partners), Inversions Valor Afegit and Agora Invest, thus substituting the capital risk partners who leave with a multiple of 1,6 gain. TGT is a big company devoted to developing a portfolio of european cheeses and now being at the forefront of the Cheese Sector. Now both TGT and the founders (leaded by mr. Pepe Martinez) will have 49,2% of the company each, the remaining 1,6% being owned by the catalan pharmaceutical company Reig Jofré.

With an investment of 15M €, the clinical development of the vaccine is ensured, and a Phase III CT is already planned to be launched next year.

Do you want to read more about it?

TGT La Vanguardia (in catalan)

Dr. Cardona at the Pharmacy Faculty of Barcelona

The Pharmacy Faculty of the Universitat de Barcelona has invited Dr. Cardona to give a talk on the RUTI® vaccine entitled: “RUTI®, the catalan hope to fight TB” in the context of the acts organized to celebrate its patron saint.

Please visit the blog of the faculty to know more about it! http://blocfarminfo.ub.edu/

The Novo Nodisk Prize Symposium in Kobenhavn

Our sincere congratulations to Prof Peter Andersen, which was awarded in May with the prestigious 2011 Novo Nordisk Prize granted by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (http://www.ssi.dk/English/News/News/2011/2011_05_Novo%20Nordisk%20award%202011_05052011.aspx)

Prof Andersen, a lovely person at short distances, has improved TB diagnostics and has been involved in the development of new TB vaccines while being Vice President of Vaccine Research and Development within SSI. Along the finantial reward (which was partly personal and partly as a research grant), a scientific meeting was organized last week in the Novo Nordisk building in Hellerup, Kobenhavn. The programme of the Symposium, entitled “TB Vaccines, new tools in the fight against an old disease” included talks by Paul Henri Lambert, Ian Orme, Stefan H.E.Kaufmann, Thomas G Evans and Barry R Bloom. The symposium was held around the idea of developing TB vaccines. Are we doing right? Are we doing wrong? Is BCG as bad as we thought? Are the new vaccines better? safer? And in this hard times of crisis: can we afford developing moderately good TB vaccines?

Worse times are coming, are we prepared? Faites vos jeux, messieurs!

Dr Cardona at Spanish TV magazine, at TV2

Dr. Cardona interviewed at TV2 magazine “Para todos la 2″, interviewed by Paloma Vidal talking about TB and the vaccine RUTI.

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/para-todos-la-2/para-todos-2-pere-joan-cardona/1257458/