Important Announcements to Principal Investigators

[Dora Ann Lange Canhos]

(to-PI.txt)                                     Release date: 23 July 1993

The UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and
Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR)

                  TDR's new targets and management structure


TDR's research targets, and the appropriate management and decision-making
structure to reach those targets, have been thoroughly reviewed during
1992-93. Proposals made by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee
(STAC) in March 1993 were accepted by the Joint Coordinating Board (JCB) in
June 1993, and will go into effect from 1st January 1994.

As a consequence of this restructuring, TDR will be able to respond more
rapidly both to new opportunities in science and to new demands from the
field. TDR will also become increasingly pro-active in identifying research
targets of critical importance to tropical disease control, and in focusing
research on those targets. TDR support of investigator-initiated work will
continue, but fewer funds may be available and therefore competition may be
greater and more selective.


TDR's new research targets

During the review process, a list of possible research targets for each
disease was drawn up. These were then scored and ranked according to six
criteria:

þ Global need, according to disease burden and the effectiveness of existing
control tools to reduce that burden.

þ Potential impact on disease of reaching the research target, taking into
account the cost- effectiveness, affordability, acceptability, and the
expected useful life of the resulting product or solution.

þ Scientific opportunity for, and feasibility of, the research required.

þ Expected time needed to reach the target.

þ TDR's specific ability, compared with other institutions, to reach the
target.

þ Cost of the work required to reach the target.

Overall, the highest scores in this review of TDR priorities went to topics in
applied field research, followed by product research and development and
finally "strategic research"*.



_________________________________________________________________
*TDR defines "strategic research" as basic research harnessed to a specific,
long-term tropical disease goal, such as blocking the ability of Anopheles
gambiae to transmit malaria. The wider context

However, it must be stressed the priorities arrived at during the TDR review
are specifically TDR's priorities. They should not be taken as a signal for
others to follow suit, but must be seen in the context of TDR's mandate, its
special capabilities (such as the organization of multi-centre field trials),
and current budget limitations.

TDR is reducing its effort in certain areas, such as basic and strategic
research. However, in order to ensure the continued generation of research
leads for product development, TDR hopes that these will remain priorities on
the agendas of other organizations working in similar areas. Moreover, TDR's
priorities are based on global need; regional and national disease priorities
will differ. Therefore, TDR is keen to establish collaborative agreements with
other bodies supporting tropical disease research, to partition and share
necessary research and development tasks.


The new steering committees

In line with the results of its review of priorities described above, TDR's
research and development activities will now focus more on product research
and development, and on applied field research. The peer review of projects
will continue, but under a new steering committee and task force structure.
Task forces will be time-limited, highly focused, and will accept proposals
only related to closely defined workplans.

TDR's disease-specific R&D steering committees will be phased out and new
steering committees established. MACROFIL, I-CHEM, IMMYC and THEMYC will
remain unchanged. All committees will match and implement TDR's new priority
scheme and will introduce a greater degree of flexibility, comparability and
interchange among resource lines and projects, across as well as within
diseases. Committees will establish time-limited task forces to tackle
particular, urgent R&D tasks.

Research and development activities will fall into three main areas: strategic
research (SR), product research and development (PRD), and applied field
research (AFR).


Strategic Research

An advisory group will meet in September 1993 to examine, and make
recommendations for, the exact arrangements for the selection and management
of strategic research projects. At present, it is envisaged that strategic
research will be managed by three steering committees concerned with:

       þ Malarial mosquitos - Secretary: B. Dobrokotov. (Covering the present
       molecular entomology initiative and genetic manipulation of
       insecticidal bacteria of the existing BCV committee.)

       þ Protozoa associated with African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease,
       leishmaniasis and malaria - Secretary: F. Modabber. (Covering strategic
       research of the existing TRYPS, CHAGAS, LEISH, CHEMAL and IMMAL
       committees.)

       þ Helminths associated with filariasis and schistosomiasis - Secretary
       to be appointed. (Covering strategic research of the existing FIL and
       SCHISTO committees.)

Product Research and Development

Broadly speaking, the Strategic Research Steering Committees will look for new
molecules; Product Research and Development Steering Committees will take
promising molecules up to and through Phase III trials; and the Product
Development Unit will take the best of these through registration and make
arrangements for production.

Product research and development will be managed by six new steering
committees, focused on downstream work following the discovery of a lead, as
follows:

       þ Drugs for malaria - Secretary: P. Olliario. (The more basic and
       strategic work of the existing CHEMAL steering committee will be
       covered by the protozoa committee under strategic research, above.)

       þ Drugs for filarial disease - Secretary: C. Ginger. (Covering the work
       of the existing MACROFIL.)

       þ Drugs for African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis -
       Secretary: K. Behbehani. (Covering the work of the existing I-CHEM.)

       þ Vaccines against malaria - Secretary: H. D. Engers. (Covering the
       vaccine product research and development work, including field testing,
       of the existing IMMAL.)

       þ Vaccines against schistosomiasis - Secretary: R. Bergquist. (Covering
       the vaccine product research and development work, including field
       testing, of the existing SCHISTO.)

       þ Vaccines against leishmaniasis - Secretary: F. Modabber. (Covering
       the vaccine product research and development work, including field
       testing, of the existing LEISH.)

The Product Development Unit - Unit Chief: P.Reeve - will continue to manage a
few high priority products proposed by the Steering Committees and recommended
by the Product Development Advisory Group to Director, TDR.

The current high-priority PDU products include:  diagnostics - malaria drug
levels, filariasis, schistosomiasis, and African trypanosomiasis;
chemotherapeutics - artemisinin derivatives, the macrofilaricide UMF078,
multidisease therapy (the co-delivery of albendazole and praziquantel for
helminth infections); vaccines and biologicals - tumor necrosis factor
antagonists and artemether for cerebral malaria in African children, and
transmission blocking vaccine for malaria.

Applied Field Research

Applied field research will be managed by a single steering committee
(Secretary: H. Remme) and will encompass activities currently managed by the
Social and Economic Research, Epidemiology and Field Research and Applied
Field Research in Malaria Steering Committees. Its main activity will be to
organize time-limited task force initiatives on specific priority topics. It
will also invite investigator-initiated proposals. Applied Field Research
activities will be undertaken in close collaboration with WHO Division of
Control of Tropical Diseases. The following will be the first AFR Task Forces:

       þ Gender research, all diseases - Secretary: C. Vlassoff

       þ School-aged children - Secretary: D. Evans

       þ Tropical diseases and health financing - Secretary: D. Evans

       þ Tropical diseases and environment - Secretary: M. Gomes

       þ Operations research on onchocerciasis - Secretary: H. Remme

       þ Bednets - Secretary: J. Cattani

       þ Sick child - Secretary: J. Cattani

       þ Filariasis field trials - Secretary: C.P. Ramachandran

       þ Operations research on Chagas disease - Secretary: A. Moncayo

       þ African trypanosomiasis surveillance - Secretary: F.A.S. Kuzoe

       þ Leprosy field studies - Secretary: S.K. Noordeen

Investigators are invited to apply to these task forces for workplans and then
to propose projects on the basis of these plans.

       þ Investigator-initiated proposals that clearly fall outside the
       interests of these task forces may also be submitted directly to the
       AFR Steering Committee.

Research Capability Strengthening

Research capability strengthening activities will continue to be managed by
the Research Strengthening Group, at least for the 1994-95 biennium. RCS
support will be increasingly meshed with ongoing research and development
projects in the field (responsible officer: J. Hashmi).

Leprosy

Strategic research and product research and development in leprosy will
continue to be managed in collaboration with WHO's Tuberculosis Programme and
the Programme on Vaccine Development, through the two existing mycobacterial
steering committees for:

       þ Immunology: IMMYC - Secretary: P.H. Lambert

       þ Chemotherapy: THEMYC - Secretary: S.K. Noordeen.

Remainder of the 1992-93 budget

Seven existing steering committees have meetings planned between July and
December 1993. These meetings are empowered to disburse any funds remaining
within the 1992-93 biennial budget, under present rules and procedures. The
committees concerned are: CHEMAL, FIL, MACROFIL, I-CHEM, BCV, SER, and RCS.
(MACROFIL and I-CHEM will also continue unaltered under the new structure.)

Renewal of existing projects in 1994 or later

Projects to be renewed in 1994 or later will be considered in the context of
TDR's new priorities and structure.



Further information

More detailed research priorities, and immediate and longer-term research
needs for each disease, and for SR, PRD, AFR and RCS, are to be described in
separate handouts now in preparation. They will be available from TDR
Communications, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland during
October 1993.

Workplans should be obtained from, and research proposals submitted to, the
Steering Committee and Task Force Secretaries responsible (see names above).
Further information may be obtained from the newly appointed disease-specific
research coordinators (see names below), whose principal responsibilities will
be to review the research activities on a specific disease across all three
areas (SR, PRD and AFR), to report through this perspective to STAC, and to
prepare disease-specific chapters and related material for the biennial
Programme Report of TDR:

        Malaria Research Coordinator - H.D. Engers

        Schistosomiasis Research Coordinator - R. Bergquist

        Filariasis Research Coordinator - C.P. Ramachandran

        African trypanosomiasis Research Coordinator - F.A.S. Kuzoe

        Chagas disease Research Coordinator - A. Moncayo

        Leishmaniasis Research Coordinator - F. Modabber

        Leprosy Research Coordinator - S.K. Noordeen