SciDev.Net

South Africa is set to approve a change to its medicines approval process, which opponents fear will circumvent evidence-based evaluation.

Lebanon has launched an awareness campaign on counterfeit drugs, but commentators say the move doesn't go far enough.

Production of a herbal-based sickle cell anaemia drug could be under threat as the companies involved are surrounded by allegations of corruption.

Peru is distributing a powder serum to tackle snakebites in remote areas of the country, and hopes to be the leaders of such research in the Andean region.

A more affordable cholera vaccine, based on a Vietnamese formulation, shows promising results in an Indian study.

Institutions in Ghana, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania have won an international cooperation award for their joint efforts in malaria research.

Brazil has the tools for an innovative health biotech sector, but is impeded by regulatory barriers and poor coordination, says a new study.

Malaria infection can cause children's immune systems to attack its own DNA, worsening the severity of the disease, a study reveals.

The WHO has been urged to make significant changes to the way disease research is financed, to better focus on maladies affecting the poor.

A study has found that around one third of antimalarial drugs available in six African cities are below WHO standards.

Brazil has developed a malaria drug — combining two drugs in a single pill — that will cost just US$2.5 per treatment.

A rotavirus vaccine trial in infants from ten Latin American countries has proven effective in mitigating severe cases of gastroenteritis.

China has approved production of a H5N1 vaccine for humans, the first of its kind in the developing world.

A Colombian research group has synthesised an early-stage vaccine that could potentially be used to treat malaria.

A leading South African HIV research initiative is struggling due to a lack of funding.

Researchers have identified a compound that could potentially be used in treating schistosomiasis.

Thai doctors fear the country's compulsory licence policy may be at risk following the recent transfer of a key government official.

A round-up of news from or about South Asia for the period 1–15 March 2008.

Trials of HIV prevention strategies in developing countries face multiple obstacles including political pressures, say scientists.

An anti-HIV vaginal gel containing tenofovir has been declared safe for daily use, according to a new study.