This past year has proven to be a quietly pivotal one in the global fight against infectious diseases. While attention in many regions shifted toward competing priorities, major scientific and public-health advances continued across HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and emerging pathogens, offering reasons for an optimistic outlook.

Among the most significant developments was the successful completion of the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment in November, which secured US $11.34 billion in pledges despite challenging economic conditions ^[1,2]. This outcome underscores sustained international commitment to HIV, TB, and malaria programmes at a time when global health budgets are under pressure, and highlights the continued need for scalable, high-confidence genomic analysis platforms such as Exatype to support surveillance and drug-resistance monitoring.

Science also delivered meaningful progress. In 2025, the U.S. FDA approved the HIV long acting injectable antiretroviral, lenacapavir, the first twice-yearly injectable PrEP option, offering up to six months of HIV prevention per dose ^[3]. Plans for broader rollout in low- and middle-income countries, including South Africa, are already underway for 2026 ^[4], with the potential to substantially improve adherence and reduce new infections. In parallel, global TB efforts received a boost as new vaccine trials began enrolling participants, renewing hope for the first effective TB vaccine in more than a century ^[5]. These advances reinforce why organisations like Hyrax Biosciences continue leading the translation of scientific progress into real-world diagnostic impact - integrating analytical validation, drug-resistance intelligence, and robust end-to-end bioinformatics solutions that strengthen public-health laboratories at scale.

As we shared in our recent World AIDS Day article, the continued momentum across HIV and TB is creating a stronger foundation for public-health programmes worldwide and as 2026 approaches, these developments set the stage for renewed momentum. With major financing secured, next-generation prevention tools emerging, and new trials underway for high-burden diseases, the year ahead holds real promise. At Hyrax, we remain committed to supporting infectious-disease responses through Exatype, our cloud-based platform that provides clear and consistent results, ensuring confidence in sequencing analysis for laboratories worldwide. We are also looking ahead - strengthening our readiness for whatever challenges may emerge next, including potentially evolving threats such as the monkeypox virus and new respiratory viruses.

References

1. The Global Fund. Global Fund Partners Demonstrate Unity and Resolve to Sustain Progress and Strengthen Global Health Security. Published 21 Nov 2025.
   https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/2025/2025-11-21-global-fund-partners-demonstrate-unity-resolve-sustain-progress-strengthen-global-health-security
2. UNAIDS. UNAIDS welcomes replenishment commitments for the Global Fund. Published 24 Nov 2025.
   https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2025/november/20241124_globalfund
3. Gilead Sciences. YezTugo (lenacapavir) approved as first and only twice-yearly HIV prevention option. Published 2025.
   https://www.gilead.com/news/news-details/2025/yeztugo-lenacapavir-is-now-the-first-and-only-fda-approved-hiv-prevention-option-offering-6-months-of-protection
4. Health-E News. Lenacapavir could be added to HIV prevention toolkit by 2026. Published 22 Aug 2025.
   https://health-e.org.za/2025/08/22/lenacapavir-could-be-added-to-hiv-prevention-toolkit-by-2026/
5. WHO / TB Alliance. Updates on 2025 TB vaccine trial initiations (e.g., M72/AS01E).
   Example report:
   https://www.tballiance.org/news/launch-phase-3-trial-m72as01e-tb-vaccine