Hello there. Welcome back to The Kable for an uncharacteristically packed Monday. The world didn't get much of a weekend, it seems.

There is often unfounded fear concerning the dead amid situations like natural disasters and conflict. Distress as well as fears of health threats sometimes result in mismanagement of the dead. Red Cross and the WHO are calling for the dignified management of bodies, reiterating that the bodies of people who have died from wounds sustained in natural disasters or armed conflict almost never pose a health danger to communities. The exceptions are when deaths occur from infectious diseases or when dead bodies are near or in water supplies.

In Uganda, scientists at the National Livestock Resources Research Institute in Nakyesasa are collaborating with other vaccine research initiatives to develop a locally-made vaccine for the foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus which infects cattle, sheep, goats and all wild ruminants, with high morbidity in adult animals and high mortality in young ones. The research team is calling on the government to provide funds to develop an appropriate facility to develop and produce the vaccine.

Under a new financing agreement, through the KfW Development Bank, the German government will provide South Africa €20 million to produce vaccines over the next half-decade. The grant is meant exclusively to finance equipment to develop, produce, and certify APIs needed to make vaccines in the country. Part of the grant will also be used to support the country’s mRNA tech transfer hub for LMICs.

Meanwhile, US-based Avalon Pharmaceuticals is launching its fourth manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia by 2026. This project will likely create 100 jobs and launch over 75 new products for the country, with a special focus on complex drugs like oncology treatments and general injectables.

Bangladesh is breaking record after record when it comes to its ongoing dengue outbreak. Again, the country reported the highest number of patients hospitalised in a day, with 3122 new dengue cases, and 18 more deaths in the 24 hours leading up to Sunday morning.

Chinese startups Cure Genetics and Frametact have inked an agreement to collaboratively develop novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to treat familial neurological diseases Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s. Cure Genetics will receive $60 million in upfront and milestone payments, with royalties due after the market launch of the product.

In the Indian state of Kerala, the total case count in the current Nipah outbreak is 6. Gavi lists 7 things you should know about the virus.

Still in India, Torrent Pharmaceuticals is in advanced negotiations with CVC Capital Partners to raise a minimum of $1.2 to 1.5 billion for its proposed acquisition of Cipla.

Meanwhile, India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is reportedly in the race to acquire Biogen’s biosimilar portfolio. Dr Reddy’s is competing with Samsung Bioepsis and fellow Indian company Intas Pharmaceuticals.

As USAID recently withdrew financing for certain gain-of-function research, its threats and benefits are back in the spotlight. Some gain- and loss-of-function studies involve high-risk pathogens which could cause outbreaks in humans if mismanaged. But such research has also resulted in breakthroughs in vaccine development, genetic research, and gene therapy. A new report has mapped the global gain- and loss-of-function research landscape by combining ML and subject-matter expert review. It points out that since risks vary in such studies, a one-size-fits-all regulatory policy would not be useful.

And while we’re on the question of the origin of a pandemic, the WHO Director-General is urging Beijing to offer more info on the origins of Covid as the WHO is ready to send a second team to investigate where the virus came from.

Meanwhile, the US National Institutes of Health has begun an early-stage human trial of FluMos-v2, an experimental universal influenza vaccine. Moderna says it has already seen success in late-stage trials of a similar shot.

A UNICEF report released today, ahead of the UN General Assembly, shows that we are off-pace to meet two-thirds of child-related indicators under the SDGs. At our current snail’s pace, only 60 countries i.e. 25% of the world’s child population will have met relevant targets by 2030.

Why should Bangladesh have all the fun? Italy is joining in the dengue party, with officials reporting 19 confirmed cases of locally-transmitted dengue fever since the start of August.

And finally, something for you to listen to during your commute: what will it take for Africa to defeat malaria?

💊 Germany finances vaccine development in…

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