Samuel G. Schumacher
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sgschumacher.bsky.social
Samuel G. Schumacher
@sgschumacher.bsky.social
Epidemiologist passionate about making good use of technology, statistics, methodology & evidence-informed decision making to advance global health.
Scientist @WHO Global TB Programme
Pinned
Today WHO released Guidance on evidence generation (GEG) on new regimens for #TB treatment — a first-of-its-kind document that advises researchers, developers, funders, and other stakeholders about how evidence should be generated to optimally inform WHO guideline development.
📣 WHO invites feedback on the draft Guidance on Evidence Generation for TB Preventive Treatment (GEG-TPT) — open for public comment until 1 August 2025.

Help shape future @WHO guidelines on #TB prevention.

WHO Newsflash here:
buff.ly/zaIVweX
July 1, 2025 at 8:44 AM
WHO launches Public call for individual participant data on on BPaL, BPaLM, BPaLC and BDLC for the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis
buff.ly/r1SqM8m
June 23, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher
NEW PRE-PRINT (currently going through peer review)

In this secondary analysis of the RIFASHORT trial we classified TB disease severity at baseline and show that for the majority of people 4-months of rifampicin-based treatment, without the use of a quinolone, was non-inferior to the 6-month SOC.
Xpert MTB/RIF® cycle threshold as a marker of TB disease severity; Implications for TB treatment stratification
Introduction Recent trials have demonstrated that shortened four-month treatment durations are effective for the majority of people with tuberculosis (TB). However, there is a population of TB patient...
doi.org
June 13, 2025 at 8:19 AM
🌍 WHO kicks off work on the Guidance on Evidence Generation (GEG) for new #TB diagnostics! A clear playbook to help innovators & researchers produce the robust data WHO needs for rapid policy decisions. 🚀 #GlobalHealth #EndTB
June 9, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher
If you are at a loose end next Tuesday, come hear me and @danieljgrint.bsky.social talk about endpoints in TB trials

Hybrid event, in London and online

Most of the same ideas available in written form here
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

#IDSky #TBSky @sgschumacher.bsky.social
May 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
JUST PUBLISHED: Results from the BEAT Tuberculosis trial of the 6-month BDLLxC regimen, which supported recently released updated #TB treatment guidelines buff.ly/FX9WdNR
buff.ly/8w1xt4l
BEAT Tuberculosis: a randomized controlled trial of a 6-month strategy for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis
Background Safer, more effective treatment regimens for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis are needed. We evaluated a novel six-month RR-TB treatment strategy. Methods We conducted a phase III,…
buff.ly
May 8, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher
#Tuberculosis prevention and care relies heavily on international donor funding in many settings. In our latest preprint, we examine the potential impact of reductions in international donor funding for #TB - by the US and by other major donor countries. 1/8

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
The potential impact of reductions in international donor funding on tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries
Background Tuberculosis services in many settings rely heavily on international donor funding. In 2025, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was dismantled, and other countri...
www.medrxiv.org
April 27, 2025 at 6:16 AM
GOOD NEWS: 25% price reduction for pretomanid - price of a BPaLM treatment course is now $310. The vast majority of DR-TB patients can benefit from this shorter, more effective regimen now. And it is cost-saving to health systems. Countries should transition away from other options rapidly.
Global Drug Facility Announces Another Big Price Drop: 25% Reduction in… | Samuel G. Schumacher
GOOD NEWS: 25% price reduction for pretomanid - price of a BPaLM treatment course is now $310. The vast majority of DR-TB patients should be able to benefit from this shorter, more effective regimen n...
www.linkedin.com
April 17, 2025 at 6:42 AM
WHO launches an update on the consolidated guidelines to diagnose #tuberculosis
createsend.com/t/d-CCE83795...
April 16, 2025 at 3:29 PM
JUST RELEASED: updated WHO TB treatment guidelines, including a recommendation for one new 6m and 3 new 9m regimens for DR-TB:
createsend.com/t/d-0CC16B59...
WHO announces landmark changes in treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis
createsend.com
April 15, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher
Did you miss @tb-lshtm.bsky.social & @ucltb.bsky.social Symposium? Or would you like to watch again? Good news: the full recording is now available! tinyurl.com/bdh8fymx
@sedonasweeney.bsky.social @kchorton.bsky.social @reinhouben.bsky.social
April 9, 2025 at 9:43 AM
It was a great pleasure to attend the second WHO Global Clinical Trials Forum -- so much expertise gathered in a single room. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
The Second WHO Global Clinical Trial Forum wrapped up yesterday. More… | Vasee Moorthy MD PhD | 24 comments
The Second WHO Global Clinical Trial Forum wrapped up yesterday. More than 100 leaders from across the clinical trials ecosystem came together: Researchers. Funders. Regulators. Ethicists. Private…
www.linkedin.com
April 8, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Please someone tell me that this is fake news
So the guy leading RFK Jr.'s vaccine-autism study?

A total quack who was previously charged for practicing medicine without a license for using chemical castration drugs on autistic children.
March 26, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher
Severe resource shortages are threatening the global response to end #tuberculosis (TB). A quarter of the world’s population could be infected with TB and not even know it. Is there a cure? What is the treatment? How do we diagnose TB? Listen in to Dr Tereza Kasaeva on Science in 5. bit.ly/4kRdJXE
WHO's Science in 5 - Facing the TB crisis (Tuberculosis) - 21 March 2025
Episode #135 / March 21, 2025 / Tuberculosis - TB Severe resource shortages are threatening the global response to end tuberculosis. Is the world on the brink of a global TB crisis? A quarter of the world’s population could be infected with TB and not even know it. Is there a cure?  What is the treatment? How do we diagnose TB? Listen in to Dr Tereza Kasaeva on Science in 5 today. Activez les sous-titres dans VOTRE langue ! ¡Activa los subtítulos en TU idioma! Активируйте субтитры на ВАШЕМ языке! قم بتفعيل الترجمة في لغتك! 激活自动翻译功能,使用您的语言字幕! Aktivieren Sie Untertitel in IHRER Sprache! Washa manukuu katika lugha YAKO! अपनी भाषा में सबटाइटल सक्रिय करें! You can watch Science in 5 in your language by using the "Auto-translate" feature in YouTube: https://youtu.be/CHsrz1VV--g Activate the subtitles first and then choose your language! Go to bottom right of the video + Settings + Subtitles/CC + Auto-translate and then choose the language of your choice. Some other episodes were also published in these linguistic playlists: Spanish: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6hS8Moik7ktt7QccOeLSyI1agc6yRHjj French: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiIQJ9sPqPFxQyKvHIVxI-mbiTsAI6Six Portuguese: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6hS8Moik7kux2qXeA0jHCNyK4GVorTJM Thai: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9S6xGsoqIBXRQzSDOfFb13iPrbL8fgy1 Nepali: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv3LbY_wohnNmC0c5yAjlyYO-AsKynshD Maithili: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv3LbY_wohnOzLMPfIg4evuGnNUifuaXX Bahasa: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLekyghuTrqcaanPy2F-LiW368Emsg1A2J Tetum: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDj7fL7ecKij-CD-4DBTzPwg_tnFUOowt
bit.ly
March 23, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Last year we released WHO Guidance on evidence generation (GEG) on new regimens for #TB treatment — a first-of-its-kind document that provides advise on how evidence should be generated to optimally inform WHO guideline development:
bsky.app/profile/sgsc...
www.who.int/publications...
March 19, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Great to see more data coming out from programmatic implementation of BPaLM (Belarus, Uzbekistan, Pakistan): ~800 patients & >90% success rate!

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39964841/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39544887/

No FU post-Rx completion since based on routine data - but still good to see this
March 17, 2025 at 11:36 AM
It was a great pleasure to talk about our work -- here an overview of the 21 key messages from the guidance and the link to the full document:
iris.who.int/bitstream/ha...
March 12, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Amidst all the bad news these days, I much enjoyed listening to this interview with Dr Rajiv Bahl, DG of @ICMRDELHI. Wonderful and inspiring to hear his vision for ICMR. The positive impact I expect it will have on the future of Global Health gives me hope.

buff.ly/NUoUhPy
Ep #1 | Charting the Future of Medical Research in India with Dr. Rajiv Bahl, DG ICMR
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
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March 7, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Just out: summary of WHO consultation on asymptomatic TB (aka subclinical TB)

createsend.com/t/d-DDBC4043...
WHO consultation on addressing asymptomatic TB in the TB response
createsend.com
March 3, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher
Challenge to the #TB community.... what are the RCT's we really need to push things forward in TB? @who.int is putting a call out as part of their Global Clinical Trials Forum. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... @catherineberry.bsky.social @madhupai.bsky.social @sgschumacher.bsky.social
Identifying key randomised clinical trials that could transform clinical care and public health
Clinical trials have been pivotal to the improvements in public health and clinical care, leading to many millions of additional years of healthy life globally. Some examples of disease areas in which...
www.thelancet.com
February 21, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Vasee Moorthy and Jeremy Farrar call for Identifying key randomised clinical trials that could transform clinical care and public health in @thelancet.bsky.social

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Identifying key randomised clinical trials that could transform clinical care and public health
Clinical trials have been pivotal to the improvements in public health and clinical care, leading to many millions of additional years of healthy life globally. Some examples of disease areas in which...
www.thelancet.com
February 14, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher
With its anti-science and anti-public health policies, the US is now at risk for outbreaks of tuberculosis

As @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social put it, "TB is both a form and expression of injustice"

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
February 13, 2025 at 12:59 PM