Spotlight on public health

Burnet Institute researchers have led the development of the first global strategic guidelines – called target product profi les (TPPs) – for medicines to prevent and treat preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder in pregnancy that’s one of the leading causes of maternal deaths, stillbirth, and preterm birth globally.

Published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health, the TPPs will help to address a longstanding dearth of innovation, and research and development of new medicines for mothers, particularly for pregnancyrelated conditions. Developed through a process of consensus involving interviews, surveys, and feedback with global stakeholders, the new TPPs provide a detailed description of what new medicines for pre-eclampsia need to achieve to meet the needs of women and their healthcare professionals, particularly with a view to global implementation.

The TPPs would be used by pharmaceutical companies to inform the development of new drugs and products, and to assist funding agencies in their decision making.