The African Medicines Agency (AMA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have issued joint guidelines aimed at accelerating the development and clinical testing of vaccines against the Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), which causes a form of Ebola disease. The guidance seeks to fast-track clinical trials while maintaining strict scientific standards and protecting participants, particularly vulnerable groups….
Islamabad, Pakistan — Politicians in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, have passed a law allowing terrorism trials to be held in near-total secrecy, with the judge, prosecutor and witnesses permitted to remain anonymous. Under the law, a person facing the country’s most serious criminal charge could be convicted without learning who heard the case against…
Modern medicine prides itself on being a universal science, built on evidence from clinical trials. But there’s a bias in medical research. While Africa accounts for roughly 25% of the global disease burden and 19% of the global population, the continent’s people are largely invisible in some clinical trials. The scale of the erasure is…
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted a quick review of three experimental psychedelic drugs meant to treat major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s the latest move by the Trump administration signaling a shift in policy toward treatments that also give users a high — coming a day after the Justice Department said…
MTN South Africa’s Zoltan Miklos MTN South Africa and US-based Pivotal Commware have completed joint field trials showing how 5G millimetre-wave (mmWave) repeater technology can significantly expand broadband reach for fixed-wireless access customers. The trials, initiated in 2024, tested Pivotal’s “Pivot” 5G repeaters at three locations in Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng and Seshego in Limpopo. The…
Some of the world’s largest funders of medical research have today committed, through the signature of a joint statement, to implement WHO standards to strengthen clinical trial systems and ensure that research better serves patients and communities. The statement sets out measures to integrate clinical trials into sustainable national infrastructure, improve trial design, ensure that…
GovTech, the public sector ICT conference, takes place at the Durban International Convention Centre until 10 September. (Photograph by DCDT) A citizen-focused super app is among the solutions and proof of concepts (POCs) being put to the test by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). This was spotlighted by SITA acting managing director Gopal Reddy,…
New York — The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) took place in Seville, Spain from 30th June to 3rd July amidst intensifying attacks on multilateralism, unprecedented cuts to global aid and development financing, and regression of decades of progress in the fight against poverty. Participants at the once-a-decade United Nations (UN) conference…
