Tag Archives: GSK

Accelerating Research and Development for NTDs

NTDs, , , WIPO Re:Search

By: Alanna Shaikh

What we really all want for the NTDs is for the very term “neglected tropical diseases” to become a misnomer. And I don’t mean we want their territory to move north. We want research and funding and effective cures and treatments, for the currently neglected tropical diseases. We want to stop having to refer to them as neglected. We’ve now taken one more step down that road.

The WIPO Re:Search collaboration is growing, in a major way. Established just a week ago, on October 26, 2011, WIPO Re:Search[1] is a project of the World Intellectual Property Organization that provides a searchable, publically available database of compounds, resources, expertise, and knowledge. By sharing information, it aims to accelerate research and development into the neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis[2], and malaria. Its members include pharmaceutical companies, universities and research facilities, and trade associations[3]. And who just joined WIPO Re:Search? Heavyweights – specifically GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Eisai, Co pharmaceutical companies.

GSK is one of the biggest drug companies in the world, and it’s done a lot of research into NTDs. It’s bringing some serious goods to the game. To quote their press release, GSK will provide “patents and patent applications to WIPO Re:Search covering small molecules and formulations directed at developing treatments and delivery technologies for NTDs as well as its full anti-malarial dataset which includes 13,500 compounds which in screening have shown evidence of activity against malaria.” That seems like the kind of thing that helps research move forward, doesn’t it? Continue reading →

Reading List 9/12/2011

reading list, , , ,

Get your week started off right with the latest in NTD and global health news! Today we’re reading about:

GSK gives update on agreement with WHO to support de-worming of school age children in endemic countries
“- First African countries, Togo and Rwanda, receive albendazole donations to scale-up school based de-worming programmes for children at risk of intestinal worms. Donations to go beyond Africa to include endemic countries in Asia Pacific and Latin America GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today announced progress on its commitment to expand the donation of albendazole to the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat school age children at risk of intestinal worms, known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH).”

Mozambique: Campaign Against Bilharzia
“The Maputo city health authorities have announced that a week-long intensive campaign against bilharzia will be launched throughout the city next Monday. Bilharzia, otherwise known as schistosomiasis or snail fever, is a disease caused by several species of parasitic worms of the genus schistosoma. The worms first infect a freshwater snail. Larval worms emerge daily from the snail host, and infect mammals, including humans, who enter the water.”

African program to prevent blindness wins prize
“An African health program that fights the debilitating disease called river blindness has won a euro1 million ($1.4 million) prize from a Portuguese foundation. The African Program for Onchocerciasis Control on Friday won the Lisbon-based Champalimaud Foundation’s annual Vision Award. The foundation said the public-private partnership has for the past 15 years coordinated more than 100 projects aimed at preventing onchocerciasis, or river blindness.”

New devices like motorcycle ambulances help poor
“A bit of creativity never hurts, especially when it comes to solving health problems in developing countries. Instead of the usual donated medicines and health equipment, some experts are inventing new products for the poor, like a solar-powered hearing aid or a motorcycle ambulance. Both inventions were showcased at an engineering conference in London.”

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2010 NTD Highlights: an eclectic list

hookworm, NTDs, , , , , , , ,

By: Alanna Shaikh

This is not a scientifically sound list. It is not based on any kind of criteria that make sense. It’s just my list, of what I remember as the most interesting developments in 2010 that related to neglected tropical diseases.

1.       The WHO issued its first annual report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). I was honestly surprised to discover it was the first, but better 2010 than never, right?  This kind of formal recognition of the seriousness of NTDs is a big part of what will make them less neglected. The report itself was thorough and detailed, and called for all the right things – more research, better drug access, and support to build health systems to eliminate the NTDs.

2.       Increased private participation in global health in general, and NTDs in particular. It seemed like the private sector was everywhere this year. We saw large drug donations to treat NTDs, including a five-year commitment from Glaxo Smith Kline to provide albendazole to protect children at risk for intestinal worms and a Sanofi Adventis cash commitment of $25 million dollars. We also saw broader corporate commitment to global health in companies that ranged from Coca-Cola to venture capital efforts.

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GSK Announces Expansion of Albendazole Donation

Global Development, Global Health, NTDs, Public Health, , , , , , ,

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced today at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) launch of the first report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that they will partake in a five-year commitment to expand the donation of its medicine albendazole to treat children at risk of intestinal worms, known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH).

The new WHO report states that STH infections are more detrimental than any other infection among school-aged children, causing cognitive and developmental issues, physical stunting, and missed school days. These infections are transmitted by use of unsanitary water.

To treat and control STH infections, the WHO recommends annual school-wide deworming, where children between 1-15 years of age receive a single dose of albendazole (or mebendazole), in regions where such infections are high.

Under the new commitment announced today, 400 million treatments of albendazole per year will be provided in addition to the previously committed supply to the WHO with 600 million tablets of albendazole per year for use in the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filiariasis (GAELF). This donation will support the UN’s strategy to improve women’s and children’s health and, when combined with existing de-worming programmes, will enable the countries to scale-up their efforts to achieve universal coverage of school age children in Africa. Shipments of the new donations are expected to start in late 2011.