Stakeholder meeting on co-infections and co-morbidities
Co-infections and Co-morbidities
Co-infections with several pathogens are frequent in sub-Saharan Africa and represent an important public health problem in many areas due to accelerated and/or complicated disease progression, resulting in increased mortality and morbidity. These co-infections can result in unique challenges in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease, including increased toxicities and/or decreased efficacy of interventions.
The rise in incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in sub-Saharan Africa and the necessity for long-term management of some poverty-related diseases (PRDs) and NCDs, often concurrently, adds to these complexities. There is therefore an urgent need to generate research evidence in this area, in order to inform the development of new/improved products and optimisation of existing regimens for the effective diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention of co-infections and co-morbidities.
Given EDCTP’s disease remit and the overlapping distribution of these diseases in countries where EDCTP funds research, EDCTP is well positioned to impact the fields of co-infection and co-morbidities in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Objectives of the meeting
The purpose of a thematic stakeholder meeting is to contribute to EDCTPs strategic research agenda, funding approach and strategic alignment with other partners involved in clinical development of interventions against PRDs.
The stakeholder meeting on co-infections and co-morbidities of 13 September 2017 has the following objectives:
- To review the research landscape, including the key clinical research questions and barriers to progress in sub-Saharan Africa
- To discuss the available interventions and products in development with the major partners working in this field
- To reach out to stakeholders involved in this field to collaborate with in the execution of future EDCTP activities
- To identify priority areas for EDCTP in terms of disease, research and intervention priorities for both the short- and medium-term.
In discussing the possibilities for the development of EDCTP’s strategy and priorities, the following aspects should be considered:
- Review of the product development landscape
Optimising the impact of interventions across the range of treatment, prevention, diagnostics and implementation research, while ensuring new products take into account potential consequences of co-infections and co-morbidities on their effectiveness in target populations. - Disease burden and need for appropriate interventions
Prioritising the development and optimisation of appropriate products for these diseases, taking into consideration the overlapping burden/prevalence of PRDs and NCDs in sub-Saharan Africa. - Emerging opportunities for EDCTP to add value
Seizing opportunities arising from product development including post-registration programmes, including effectiveness studies and pharmacovigilance. - Balance between immediate, medium and long-term priorities and clinical trial phases
Balancing investment according to long-, medium- and short-term priorities and/or clinical trial phase is important to ensure a robust development pipeline and a steady flow of products.
Participation
Participation at the meeting is by invitation only. Meeting delegates will include representatives from academic and research institutions, funding agencies, product development partnerships (PDPs), industry and others. The outputs from the meeting will be made publicly available through a report with recommendations on focus areas for EDCTP activities, including calls for proposals.
Previous scientific stakeholder meetings
EDCTP regularly organises thematic stakeholder meetings. In previous years stakeholder meetings were held on (link to meeting report; PDF):