Research and product development for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever: priorities for 2024-30
- PMID: 39522529
- DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00656-X
Research and product development for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever: priorities for 2024-30
Abstract
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widely distributed and potentially fatal tick-borne viral disease with no licensed specific treatments or vaccines. In 2019, WHO published an advanced draft of a research and development roadmap for CCHF that prioritised the development and deployment of the medical countermeasures most needed by CCHF-affected countries. This Personal View presents updated CCHF research and development priorities and is the product of broad consultation with a working group of 20 leading experts in 2023-24. The strategic goals, milestones, and timelines have been revised and expanded to reflect scientific advances since 2019, including the identification of antibodies with therapeutic potential and the progression of four vaccine candidates through phase 1 clinical trials. This update emphasises the need for a One Health approach to manage CCHF, from integrated cross-sectoral surveillance to novel interventions that target ticks and their vertebrate hosts to reduce CCHF virus transmission to humans. The overarching vision for rapid diagnostics and specific therapeutics by 2028, followed by options to limit CCHF virus transmission and control disease by 2030, is deliberately ambitious and will only be achieved through coordinated international action from affected countries, funders, scientists, product developers, manufacturers, regulators, national authorities, and policy makers.
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Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of interests JF declares a grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Spain (grant number MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the EU–European Regional Development Fund (grant number BIOGAL PID2020–116761GB-I00). JF has also received support from the Federal University of Uberlândia and the Brazilian Federal Foundation for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (grant number 88887.936876/2024–00) to attend the 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Veterinary Parasitology College at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest, Romania. TF declares funding (paid to his institution) from GuardRX (not-for-profit) and the Pandemic Institute (Liverpool) for the UMIT-1 phase 1b Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) therapeutics trial in Türkiye; from the Medical Research Council (MRC) for the UMIT-2 phase 2b CCHF therapeutics trial in Türkiye and Iraq; from the MRC for the GeneDrive PCR platform and for development of a CCHF lateral flow test. SG has received grants (paid to his institution) from the German Research Foundation, European Commission, German Government, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and Kirmser Foundation; and has received speaker honoraria and support for attending meetings from WHO and CEPI. RH is in receipt of grant funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and the MRC to investigate CCHF virus genome reassortment, sequence CCHF virus variants, and develop diagnostics for low-resource settings; and is an investigator in the EU H2020-funded CCHFVaccine project. RH is a named inventor on a patent (PCT/GB2013/0503174; WO 2014/132013) for a vectored CCHF vaccine. GKob received federal funding from the Canadian Institute for Health Research to develop immunogens based on CCHF glycoproteins (2016–21), is an inventor on a patent for CCHF virus immunogenic compositions, and received funding from Université Laval and GUARDRx (not-for-profit) to attend meetings related to the original CCHF Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap (2018–20). AC, PCF, PJH, and JPG worked at the Wellcome Trust during the time that the CCHF Roadmap was being revised and this Personal View was written. TJGB, AES, and JW received support from WHO to attend meetings related to the original CCHF R&D Roadmap (2018–20). TJGB, AES, JW, and JO received funding from the Wellcome Trust (grant number 226729/Z/22/Z) to coordinate the 2023–24 update to the CCHF R&D Roadmap and to complete this Personal View. In addition, the Wellcome Trust covered convening costs for TJGB, AES, JW, VB, M-PP, LHB, TF, PBHF, SG, RH, BJ, JF, GP, AP, and HS to attend a meeting of the CCHF working group in London, UK (Feb 13–14, 2023). All other authors declare no competing interests. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this Personal View; they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions, or policies of the institutions with which the authors are affiliated. Editorial note: The Lancet Group takes a neutral position with respect to territorial claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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