Press release

DRUGS FOR NEGLECTED DISEASES INITIATIVE
an international initiative against forgotten diseases

Médecins Sans Frontières, the Institut Pasteur, the WHO, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil, the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Health Ministry of Malaysia, meeting today at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, decided to work together to fight against "neglected diseases" which kill millions of victims each year in the world.

These institutions will represent an independent non-profit making body: DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative), in order to develop Research and Development (R&D) in this field. DNDi will be officially created in July 2003.

To begin with, DNDi decided to focus on three diseases - African trypanosomiasis, Chagas' disease and visceral leishmaniasis - for which no new treatment is currently available, and no research for innovative drugs is underway at this time.

A call for projects has just been launched by DNDi within the international, academic and industrial scientific communities for the development of research programmes for the treatment of these three diseases.

This will focus on:

- either producing and co-ordinating research programmes for the identification and development of new therapeutic molecules.

- or identifying existing drugs (antibiotics, antiparasitics,...) likely to be used to treat these pathologies after the development of new indications or after reformulation or improvement of existing pharmaceutical formulas.

DNDi will be responsible for finding all financing required for selected projects from governments, public or private international institutions, industrial bodies or using campaigns for donations.

"Neglected diseases" are those which affect the poorest populations and countries on the planet, and for which no treatment is available using the new sciences and technologies in drug research and development. Although affecting millions of people, these people have low or no financial resources and therefore no industrial body (research, development, production or distribution) pays serious attention.

This mainly affects the three aforementioned diseases plus malaria, tuberculosis, Buruli ulcer, schistosomiasis and onchocercosis.

The three diseases chosen by the DNDi for the initial call for projects are doubly forgotten: not only do they attack in poor countries, but they are also geographically limited.

Trypanosomiasis affects 500,00 people per year and threatens 60 million people, mainly in Africa, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Cameroon. Chagas' disease threatens one quarter of the population of Latin America, i.e. almost 100 million people. Visceral leishmaniosis affects 12 million people in the world, most of which live in tropical countries such as India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, Ethiopia or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Thousands of millions of dollars are spent each year in research and development for drugs against diseases affecting wealthy countries. Out of the 1393 new drugs put on the market between 1975 and 1999, only 13 (i.e. 1%) treated a tropical illness. Barely 10% of medical research currently focuses on illnesses representing 90% of deaths worldwide.

The lack of interest shown by the private sector is not made up for by the public sector. The amount spent by the public sector on R&D on diseases in developing countries is pitiful and public research budgets are constantly being reduced.

For the first time, research institutes in various countries and one international NGO are working together.

For the last 30 years, MSF has been an eye witness to the cost in human lives represented by the lack of drugs for these neglected diseases. The association fought against and continues to fight against this inequality, particularly via the creation of the campaign for Access to Essential Medicines in 1999.

Since its creation, the Institut Pasteur has given priority to its fight against infectious diseases and particularly those affecting poor countries, mainly via its research programmes in Paris and the Institut Pasteur International Network.

The WHO launched its special programme for research and training on tropical diseases to find solutions to the public health problems related to ten neglected infectious diseases which affect poor and marginal groups.

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil dedicates its resources to biomedical research and includes a company which develops and produces drugs: Pharma Guinhos.

The Indian Council for Medical Research, (ICMR) supports and co-ordinates medical research in India. A drug research and technology institute located in Luknow is part of the ICMR.

The Health Ministry of Malaysia is attempting to set up health partnerships.

Contacts :

- MSF: Caroline Livio: +33 (0)1 40 21 27 94, Laurence Hugues: +33 (0)1 40 21 28 43
and Yarri Kamara: +33 (0)1 40 21 28 97

- Institut Pasteur : Nadine Peyrolo: +33 (0)1 45 68 81 47