Neglected diseases less neglected

A report from the George Institute in Australia identifies that nearly $3 billion was spent last year in the search for new medicines in areas such as malaria, dengue and other “neglected diseases”.

An article in the Financial Times highlights that “drug companies are providing support, and the governments of two of the richer developing countries with many such illnesses – Brazil and India – are for the first time among the “top five” public sector funders, as they take growing responsibility for their domestic disease burden.

The bad news is that funding is stagnant and remains a tiny fraction of the efforts invested into other, richer world, diseases. But at least developing country governments and companies are increasingly taking up the slack. Over time, that may help them not only tackle problems at home but help develop local expertise in drug development that will challenge the dominance of western pharmaceutical companies in the future.”

An FT reader further commented that “It is encouraging that multinational pharmaceutical companies are continuing to invest significantly in research into neglected diseases.

Although the $280 millon spent in 2008 by multinational companies represents a very slight increase, it is an increase nonetheless. This, despite the impact that the severity of the economic downturn should have on such investments.

Also of note is the fact that 70 percent of the research by multinationals is focused on three diseases — malaria, TB and dengue. This may reflect a shift from a concentration on the disease of Africa to a broader focus on diseases of the developing world since these three disease are also endemic to Asia and South America.”

Tens of Millions of TB Patients Cured

The World Health Organization reports that over the past 15 years, the Stop TB Strategy has resulted in 36 million people being cured of tuberculosis and eight million lives saved.  Reductions in disease burden achieved to date follow fourteen years of intensive efforts at global, regional and country levels to implement the Stop TB Strategy (2006–) and it’s predecessor, the DOTS strategy (1995–2005).

The Stop TB priorities are to expand, adapt, and improve strategies to control and eliminate TB in support of the World Health Assembly Targets set by 2005 (70% case-detection and 85% cure-rates) and the Millennium Development Goals.

The Stop TB Partnership aims to provide global leadership, strategy, and coordinating mechanisms.  The partnership develops advocacy and resource mobilization strategies in support of these priorities, and coordinates and ‘brokers’ resource flows. Other partners in this WHO program include Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, as well as Médecins sans Frontières and the IFPMA.

Other initiatives and partnerships working to reduce the disease burden of tuberculosis and improve public health in developing countries include:

• Training programs for health workers
• Research centers focused on neglected tropical diseases and optimizing treatments for developing countries (such as the Infectious Disease Research Institute)
• Drug donation programs

Update on EU leadership

The following update on the election of a new EU executive and it’s impact is provided by the European Public Health Alliance.

With the announcement of ’Barrosso II’, all that remains between a new political leadership in Brussels is the Parliamentary hearings. The designated Commissioners are busy preparing for the scrutiny before the European Parliament, a gruelling three hour process where questions are mooted on potentially any topic within their portfolio. This is not the simple ’rubber stamp’ procedure that it may appear : Commissioners are expected to understand the details of the political and technical dossiers and prepare for the most challenging and divisive questions. The new Health and Consumer Commissioner, John Dalli, is in for a particular challenge. Always a broad portfolio, the inclusion of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, cosmetics and genetically modified organisms gives not only far more technical and complex dossiers but also those with heavy economic interests and strong positions. All will be watching the hearings, in order to get a sense of the leadership for the next five years.

Meanwhile, Brussels waits. The political dossiers are on hold : big consultations on issues of key interest and impact are waiting for the political leadership to take the helm. The EU2020 consultation, on the future business plan of Europe, is however underway, with a deadline of 15 January. This short consultation, for what is the second most important document in terms of decision-making after the Treaty, coinciding with the Christmas holidays is causing many in Brussels to call in protest at the challenges this brings for a full and transparent debate of the issues.

EU announces new ‘single patent’

The Council of the European Union (EU) has announced an agreement on long-awaited plans for a single EU Patent and a new European patent court.  The EU Patent will involve partnerships between European patent offices, which will bring about more rapid delivery of patents and increase speed of access to market for innovative products and services.

The proposed EU Patent will make it less costly for businesses to protect innovative technology and make litigation more accessible and predictable, says the EU Commission.

Fighting malaria with… mosquitoes?

Around a million people die of malaria each year, most of them in Africa.  Economic losses from the disease amount to an estimated one percent of the African economy each year.  According to a report from VOA news, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute in Baltimore, Maryland are studying how mosquitoes could be used to prevent malaria.

Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium. The organism is injected into people through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Malaria can be treated, but in many areas the parasites have become resistant to different drugs.

There are hundreds of kinds of mosquitoes in the world and most do not spread malaria. Some even have immune systems that kill Plasmodium.

The researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a way to make genetic changes in the three mosquito species known to spread malaria. The changes cause their systems to attack the parasite, blocking its development. Other researchers are working on ways to spread these genetically modified insects among mosquito populations.