Three shots at a better TB vaccine: Indonesia tracks candidates through the world's biggest trials

The BCG vaccine has protected children against tuberculosis for a century, but its shield fades — and Indonesia carries one of the world's heaviest TB burdens. This week the head of its food and drug authority, Taruna Ikrar, detailed progress on three new vaccine candidates. One, promoted by the Gates Foundation, is in Phase 3 trials with nearly 60,000 volunteers worldwide, including 2,000 in Indonesia, with encouraging early results; another, an inhaled vaccine from CanSino and local maker Etana, proved safe in Phase 1 and now enters Phase 2. None of this is a finished vaccine — it is the long, careful middle of the work, happening with Indonesian patients and scientists at the centre of it.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation