Author Archives: Ole Olesen

Vaccine Research and Development Infrastructure in the European Union: Establishing Support Through Integration

Developing novel medicinal products involves many processes and requires a number of different technologies and areas of expertise. Although large pharmaceutical companies can support in-house development and fill gaps by hiring contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), the cost, complexity, and scope of development are prohibitive for most academic or small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Such difficulties are amplified for vaccine developers, especially those working to treat vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries where profit potential is limited. A…

Leishmaniasis — a Forgotten Epidemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers leishmaniasis to be one of the world’s most neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). As of January 2023, more than one billion people are at risk of infection with leishmaniasis because they live in endemic regions. NTDs disproportionately affect the world’s most underresourced and malnourished populations, contributing to a vicious cycle of poverty and disease. Yearly, between 498,000 and 862,000 new cases are diagnosed, resulting in over 18,700 deaths and up to 1.6 million disability-adjusted life…

Advancing In Silico Tools for Vaccine Development and Process Modeling

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of — and significant demand for — vaccines. However, vaccine development for large-scale manufacturing can be difficult and resource intensive because of the diversity and complexity of vaccine types that are needed. Developing a new vaccine typically takes more than a decade, with costs ranging from US$200 million to $500 million per successful program. That figure rises to $8 billion for epidemic vaccines (1). Vaccine programs also face a 90% risk of failure…