The International Studies program held a Zoom lecture on Monday, April 6, in the Grove Hall Forum featuring guest speaker Peter Hotez, who spoke on his research regarding vaccine distribution for neglected tropical diseases.

Hotez is a professor of pediatrics, molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. He also serves as the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and the Co-Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital for Vaccine Development, which was the basis of his lecture on Monday night.

Shippensburg University history Professor Gretchen Pierce introduced the small audience of students to Hotez and gave a background on neglected tropical diseases.

“These are diseases that plague impoverished parts of the world and then further contribute to the cycle of poverty,” she said. “Additionally, Dr. Hotez has led or co-led the development of vaccines for parasitic infections and coronavirus, including two lost-cost ones administered in India and Indonesia.”

Hotez began by outlining the contributing factors to the recent rise of tropical diseases, those being climate change and urbanization. According to Hotez, there is low interest in vaccine development for these diseases by large pharmaceutical companies. The focus of Hotez’s work is to develop vaccines without the backing of thes companies.

The recent rise in tropical diseases is happening in two main regions, Hotez said. These regions are the southern United States along the Gulf Coast and in southern Europe. The rise is driven by the spread of insects like the aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits diseases like yellow fever and the zika virus.

Bats, another common vector of disease, are also moving closer to people due to climate change. Climate change works in tandem with urbanization, driving people closer to the environments where disease vectors live.

“We’re going to see human populations crammed into these ginormous megacities, and because of the rising temperatures, they’re going to be hot and sweltering megacities,” he said. “This is where we’re going to see this pretty steady drumbeat of pandemics as well as tropical diseases.”

Hotez detailed the international research done toward producing vaccines for these neglected tropical diseases. His focus for Monday night’s lecture was on hookworm anemia, which results from infection by the hookworm parasite. Infection by these parasites is most common in low-income, tropical regions, according to Hotez.

Developing vaccines and treatments for hookworm anemia has been a difficult battle. 

“In addition to the science, what’s the business model here,” he said. “Imagine for a minute that you’re the chief executive officer of a big pharma company … where is your financial return? It’s going to all be in North America and Europe, and yet those diseases are not in North America or Europe.”

The COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the development of Hotez’s research. During the pandemic, Hotez and his team were able to work with scientists in India to develop and distribute an affordable vaccine. 

“It really provided proof of concept that I thought could be applied for neglected disease vaccines,” he said.

After Hotez finished his lecture, the microphone was turned over to the audience to ask questions. 

“Do you have any suggestions about how the business model could best be achieved to continue to develop vaccines for neglected tropical diseases,” one audience member asked.

“No, but that’s the problem. I believe there is a solution … It’s not that these vaccines would necessarily lose money, it’s just that they wouldn’t be blockbuster vaccines. You could never charge more than a dollar or two a dose, like our low-cost COVID vaccine,” he responded. “We need innovation in the finance, regulatory and legal sectors as much as any other.”

After a brief round of questions, Monday’s meeting concluded at about 5:50 p.m.

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