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Samuel G. Schumacher

@sgschumacher.bsky.social

760 followers 71 following 74 posts

Epidemiologist passionate about making good use of technology, statistics, methodology & evidence-informed decision making to advance global health. Scientist @WHO Global TB Programme

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Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Dec 16

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.

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Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jul 1

Draft document available here: buff.ly/20RW4db

📝 Submit feedback here: buff.ly/bHa1CKk

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jul 1

📣 WHO invites feedback on the draft Guidance on Evidence Generation for TB Preventive Treatment (GEG-TPT) — open for public comment until 1 August 2025.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

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Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 23

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

Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher

Daniel Grint @danieljgrint.bsky.social · Jun 13

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

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Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

Funding acknowledgement:
This work is made possible through catalytic support from the Gates Foundation—thank you for championing better, faster TB diagnostics. #Tuberculosis #Diagnostics #GlobalHealth #EvidenceGeneration #WHO #TBScience #Policy #Research

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

Kyung Hyun Oh · Jean Iragena · Soudeh Ehsani

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

Steering-group members:
Patricia Hall-Eidson · Alexei Korobitsyn · Carl-Michael Nathanson· Nazir Ismail · Matteo Zignol · Irena Prat · Dr Kerri Viney · Dennis von Berlepsch · Cecily Miller· Avinash Kanchar · Saskia Den Boon · Vineet Bhatia · Martin van den Boom · Ernesto Montero

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

Observers
Grania Brigden · Puneet Dewan · Smiljka de Lussigny · Adam Penn-Nicholson · Jacob Creswell · Anisa Ghadrshenas

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

Gavin Churchyard · Yanlin Zhao · Sabira Tahseen · Chishala Chabala · Alex Kay · Nora Engel · Augusto Geyer · Valeria Alcon · Yemisi Takwoingi · Shaheed Vally Omar · Siva Kumar Shanmugam · Daniela Cirillo · Christopher Coulter · Thomas Shinnick · Monde Muyoyeta · Mikashmi Kohli

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

Contributors 🙌
Claudia Denkinger · Grant Theron · Madhukar Pai · Mark Nicol · Rachel Louise Byrne · Nandita Venkatesan · Tejaswini DV · Jon Deeks · Achilles Katamba · Alice Zwerling · Hojoon Sohn · Holger Schünemann · Emily L MacLean · Anis Karuniawati

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

Timeline 🗓️ Draft v0 with the Scientific GEG Development Group this month → iterative inputs mid-2025 → open review → publication by year-end. Stay tuned!

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

Why it matters👇
• Bridges discovery → policy → impact
• Covers diagnostic accuracy, patient outcomes, costs, equity & feasibility
• Speeds scale-up of cutting-edge tools for people affected by TB.

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Jun 9

🌍 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

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Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · May 30

Thanks Kyle! Glad it's still useful. Have you had a look at this as well?

www.who.int/news/item/28...

WHO consultation on addressing asymptomatic TB in the TB response

Many people with tuberculosis (TB) do not feel unwell and do not present to health services with symptoms. People with such asymptomatic forms of TB (aTB) may only be identified during screening with ...

www.who.int

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Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher

Tom Yates @tomayates.bsky.social · May 20

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

TB Centre LSHTM @tb-lshtm.bsky.social · Apr 30

Diary date: 27 May 12.45 BST "Defining efficacy endpoints for late phase tuberculosis treatment non-inferiority trials"@danieljgrint.bsky.social @tomayates.bsky.social
www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/e...

Defining efficacy endpoints for late phase tuberculosis treatment

Randomised trials of new TB treatment regimens use a non-inferiority design, comparing new regimens to the established standard of care. In the last 20-years, these trials have used a composite

www.lshtm.ac.uk

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Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · May 8

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,…

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Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher

Katherine Horton @kchorton.bsky.social · Apr 27

#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

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Reposted by Samuel G. Schumacher

btnin24.bsky.social @btnin24.bsky.social · Apr 24

Just out! journals.plos.org/globalpublic... Clinical trial costs transparency as a tool to facilitate equitable access. A call to action! Please spread the word @msf.ca @madhupai.bsky.social @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social @catherineberry.bsky.social @sgschumacher.bsky.social @cdmitpih.bsky.social

Cost analysis of the TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial on novel tuberculosis treatment regimens

Clinical trials are considered to be the largest contributor to pharmaceutical development costs. However, public disclosure of the costs of individual clinical trials is rare. Médecins Sans Frontiè...

journals.plos.org

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Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Apr 23

www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

Diagnostic accuracy of swab-based molecular tests for tuberculosis using… | Seda Y.

The R2D2 TB Network Consortium has just released a preprint on the first-ever study evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of novel near-point-of-care MTB assays using tongue and sputum swabs for tubercul...

www.linkedin.com

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Apr 17

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

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Apr 16

· establishes two new classes of TB diagnostic technologies for the initial detection of TB and resistance to rifampicin, and

· outlines current WHO TB diagnostic class determination and product assessment definitions and pathways

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Apr 16

· presents new recommendations on concurrent testing of respiratory and non-respiratory samples among people of all ages living with HIV and children without HIV or with unknown HIV status
...

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Apr 16

WHO launches an update on the consolidated guidelines to diagnose tuberculosis. This consolidated document:
· combines the WHO policy guidance on diagnosis of TB infection, disease and drug resistance into a single reference document
...

Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Apr 16

WHO launches an update on the consolidated guidelines to diagnose #tuberculosis
createsend.com/t/d-CCE83795...

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Samuel G. Schumacher @sgschumacher.bsky.social · Apr 15

These consolidated guidelines bring together all WHO guidelines related to treatment, combining previously separate documents on the treatment of drug-susceptible TB, drug-resistant TB and TB care & support.