Publications by authors named "Gavin Koh"

Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the effectiveness of 8-aminoquinolines (primaquine and tafenoquine) in curing Plasmodium vivax malaria by targeting hypnozoites, with a specific look at the role of methaemoglobin levels as a potential indicator for preventing malaria recurrence.
  • The researchers conducted a systematic review of clinical studies from 2000 to 2022 and examined data from 1,747 patients treated with primaquine to analyze the relationship between methaemoglobin concentration and the time to malaria recurrence.
  • Their findings suggest that higher methaemoglobin levels may correlate with a lower risk of P. vivax recurrence, indicating the potential use of methaemoglobin as
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Challenges in classifying recurrent Plasmodium vivax infections constrain surveillance of antimalarial efficacy and transmission. Recurrent infections may arise from activation of dormant liver stages (relapse), blood-stage treatment failure (recrudescence) or reinfection. Molecular inference of familial relatedness (identity-by-descent or IBD) can help resolve the probable origin of recurrences.

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New tuberculosis treatments are needed to address drug resistance, lengthy treatment duration and adverse reactions of available agents. GSK3036656 (ganfeborole) is a first-in-class benzoxaborole inhibiting the Mycobacterium tuberculosis leucyl-tRNA synthetase. Here, in this phase 2a, single-center, open-label, randomized trial, we assessed early bactericidal activity (primary objective) and safety and pharmacokinetics (secondary objectives) of ganfeborole in participants with untreated, rifampicin-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis.

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In our recent paper on the clinical pharmacology of tafenoquine (Watson et al., 2022), we used all available individual patient pharmacometric data from the tafenoquine pre-registration clinical efficacy trials to characterise the determinants of anti-relapse efficacy in tropical vivax malaria. We concluded that the currently recommended dose of tafenoquine (300 mg in adults, average dose of 5 mg/kg) is insufficient for cure in all adults, and a 50% increase to 450 mg (7.

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Introduction: We assessed effects of AZD7442 (tixagevimab/cilgavimab) on deaths from any cause or hospitalizations due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and symptom severity and longer-term safety in the TACKLE adult outpatient treatment study.

Methods: Participants received 600 mg AZD7442 (n = 452) or placebo (n = 451) ≤ 7 days of COVID-19 symptom onset.

Results: Death from any cause or hospitalization for COVID-19 complications or sequelae through day 169 (key secondary endpoint) occurred in 20/399 (5.

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Background: We report spike protein-based lineage and AZD7442 (tixagevimab/cilgavimab) neutralizing activity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants identified from breakthrough infections in the PROVENT preexposure prophylaxis trial.

Methods: Variants identified from PROVENT participants with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction-positive symptomatic illness were phenotypically assessed to determine neutralization susceptibility of variant-specific pseudotyped virus-like particles.

Results: At completion of 6 months' follow-up, no AZD7442-resistant variants were observed in breakthrough coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

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Challenges in understanding the origin of recurrent infections constrains the surveillance of antimalarial efficacy and transmission of this neglected parasite. Recurrent infections within an individual may arise from activation of dormant liver stages (relapse), blood-stage treatment failure (recrudescence) or new inoculations (reinfection). Molecular inference of familial relatedness (identity-by-descent or IBD) based on whole genome sequence data, together with analysis of the intervals between parasitaemic episodes ("time-to-event" analysis), can help resolve the probable origin of recurrences.

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Traditionally, patient travel history has been used to distinguish imported from autochthonous malaria cases, but the dormant liver stages of Plasmodium vivax confound this approach. Molecular tools offer an alternative method to identify, and map imported cases. Using machine learning approaches incorporating hierarchical fixation index and decision tree analyses applied to 799 P.

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Tafenoquine is a newly licensed antimalarial drug for the radical cure of malaria. The mechanism of action and optimal dosing are uncertain. We pooled individual data from 1102 patients and 72 healthy volunteers studied in the pre-registration trials.

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Article Synopsis
  • A phase 3 trial evaluated the effectiveness of AZD7442 (tixagevimab/cilgavimab) as a post-exposure preventive treatment for COVID-19 in unvaccinated adults who had been exposed to the virus.
  • A total of 1,121 participants were enrolled, with 749 receiving AZD7442 and 372 receiving a placebo, showing mild-to-moderate adverse events mostly in the placebo group.
  • Although the study did not meet the primary goal of preventing symptomatic COVID-19 overall, it indicated that AZD7442 significantly reduced the risk of symptomatic infection in those who were confirmed to be virus-negative at the start of the trial.
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Background: Although tuberculosis (TB) is a curable disease, treatment is complex and prolonged, requiring considerable commitment from patients. This study aimed to understand the common perspectives of TB patients across Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa throughout their disease journey, including the emotional, psychological, and practical challenges that patients and their families face.

Methods: This qualitative market research study was conducted between July 2020 and February 2021.

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Background: Early intramuscular administration of SARS-CoV-2-neutralising monoclonal antibody combination, tixagevimab-cilgavimab, to non-hospitalised adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 has potential to prevent disease progression. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tixagevimab-cilgavimab in preventing progression to severe COVID-19 or death.

Methods: TACKLE is an ongoing, phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted at 95 sites in the USA, Latin America, Europe, and Japan.

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Background: The monoclonal-antibody combination AZD7442 is composed of tixagevimab and cilgavimab, two neutralizing antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that have an extended half-life and have been shown to have prophylactic and therapeutic effects in animal models. Pharmacokinetic data in humans indicate that AZD7442 has an extended half-life of approximately 90 days.

Methods: In an ongoing phase 3 trial, we enrolled adults (≥18 years of age) who had an increased risk of an inadequate response to vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), an increased risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, or both.

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Plasmodium vivax has the largest geographic range of human malaria species and is challenging to manage and eradicate due to its ability to establish a dormant liver stage, the hypnozoite, which can reactivate leading to relapse. Until recently, the only treatment approved to kill hypnozoites was the 8-aminoquinoline, primaquine, requiring daily treatment for 14 days. Tafenoquine, an 8-aminoquinoline single-dose treatment with activity against P.

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Objective: To determine household and health-care provider costs associated with infection across a range of endemic settings.

Methods: We collected cost data alongside three multicentre clinical trials of treatment in Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Philippines, Peru, Thailand and Viet Nam conducted between April 2014 to December 2017. We derived household costs from trial participant surveys administered at enrolment and again 2 weeks later to determine the costs of treatment and transportation, and the number of days that patients and their household caregivers were unable to undertake their usual activities.

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Introduction: Tafenoquine has been recently registered for the prevention of relapse in Plasmodium vivax malaria.

Objective: This study assessed the pharmacodynamic effects of 300-mg single-dose tafenoquine on the retina.

Methods: This phase I, prospective, multicenter, randomized, single-masked, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted between 2 February 2016 and 14 September 2017 at three US study centers.

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The Gram-negative intracellular pathogen is the causative agent of melioidosis, an important cause of sepsis in Southeast Asia. Recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) is essential for an appropriate immune response during pathogen invasion. In patients with melioidosis, TLR5 is the most abundantly expressed TLR, and a hypofunctional TLR5 variant has been associated with improved survival.

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Background: Tafenoquine, a single-dose therapy for Plasmodium vivax malaria, has been associated with relapse prevention through the clearance of P. vivax parasitemia and hypnozoites, termed "radical cure."

Methods: We performed a phase 3, prospective, double-blind, double-dummy, randomized, controlled trial to compare tafenoquine with primaquine in terms of safety and efficacy.

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Background: Treatment of Plasmodium vivax malaria requires the clearing of asexual parasites, but relapse can be prevented only if dormant hypnozoites are cleared from the liver (a treatment termed "radical cure"). Tafenoquine is a single-dose 8-aminoquinoline that has recently been registered for the radical cure of P. vivax.

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Soil-transmitted helminths and frequently coincide geographically and it is hypothesized that gastrointestinal helminth infection may exacerbate tuberculosis (TB) disease by suppression of Th1 and Th17 responses. However, few studies have focused on latent TB infection (LTBI), which predominates globally. We performed a large observational study of healthy adults migrating from Nepal to the UK ( = 645).

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Background: Infection with the gram-negative bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis) is an important cause of pneumosepsis in Southeast Asia and has a mortality of up to 40%. We aimed to assess the role of platelets in the host response against B. pseudomallei infection.

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Tafenoquine is a novel 8-aminoquinoline antimalarial drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the radical cure of acute malaria, which is the first new treatment in almost 60 years.

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Unlabelled: Bioavailability/bioequivalence studies supporting clinical drug development or commercial supply of drug formulations are often time, cost, and resource intensive. The drug's pharmacokinetic (PK) variability, systemic half-life, and safety issues may pose additional challenges. The stable isotope label (SIL) approach provides a useful tool to significantly reduce the study size in clinical PK studies.

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