Neglected Tropical Disease News and Research

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GSK to offer scientists access to compounds, lab space to fight malaria

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)'s Chief Executive Officer Andrew Witty on Tuesday unveiled the company's plans to allow "free access to its library of 13,500 potential malaria treatments and devote the profits from its experimental [RTS,S] vaccine to battling tropical illnesses that beset poor countries," Bloomberg reports (Randall, 1/20).

21 Jan 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet Comment examines the "grossly insufficient" progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing under-5 child mortality. "Accelerated progress can be achieved, even in the poorest environments, through: integrated, evidence-driven, and community-based programmes that focus on addressing the major causes of death, including pneumonia, diarrhoea, newborn disorders, malaria, HIV, and undernutrition; reaching the unreached with a basic package of interventions at large scale and achieving coverage with equity; and using data for action and advocacy," the comment concludes (You et al., 1/9).

9 Jan 2010

MSF report names malnutrition, inadequate funds for HIV/AIDS, neglected diseases among top humanitarian crises of 2009

Inadequate international funding for HIV/AIDS and neglected diseases as well as global malnutrition were among the top 10 humanitarian crises outlined in an annual report issued Monday by Medecins Sans Frontieres, the Associated Press reports (Astor, 12/21).

22 Dec 2009

Survey examines disease R&D investment in 2008

According to an annual survey released Tuesday by the George Institute for International Health that looks at research and development (R&D) funding of diseases that affect the developing world, the U.S. government in 2008 "remained the single biggest contributor as it again provided almost half of the total funding but the report notes developing countries like Brazil [and] India ... were becoming a growing force," AAP/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 12/15).

17 Dec 2009

Intellectual Property Watch examines WHO working group on drug development financing

Intellectual Property Watch examines the wrap-up of a WHO meeting of experts discussing innovative ways to finance research and development for products to treat diseases in developing countries and reports that recommendations by the group are expected to be released within a few weeks.

7 Dec 2009

New approach to protein misfolding may lead to novel therapies for a number of diseases

In an encouraging new development, a team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has restored partial function to lung cells collected from patients with cystic fibrosis. While there is still much work to be done before the therapy can be tested in humans, the discovery opens the door to a new class of therapies for this and a host of other chronic diseases.

7 Dec 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

Ahead of the U.N. Climate Change conference in Copenhagen next week, a Lancet comment examines the health consequences associated with climate change and the case for linking climate and health goals. "The issue now is not whether climate change is occurring, but how we can respond most effectively. ... Responding to climate change is not a distraction from the business of protecting health: it is part of the same agenda," the author writes (Chan, 12/5).

4 Dec 2009

ASTMH symposium illustrates the need to generate new medicines for infectious diseases

An urgent need for new medicines to treat neglected infectious diseases in the developing world has prompted a growing number of collaborations among academic researchers, non-profit product development partnerships (PDPs), and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

23 Nov 2009

Elsevier journal Vaccine releases a supplement dedicated to vaccines for biodefense

Last week during the 'Vaccines for Biothreats and Emerging and Neglected Diseases Symposium' in Galveston TX, USA, the Elsevier journal Vaccine released a supplement dedicated to vaccines for biodefense (www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0264410X).

20 Nov 2009

Pfizer,DNDi partner to Identify NTD drugs; Sanofi-Aventis, medicines for malaria launch drug study

Pfizer and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) on Wednesday announced plans to team up in an effort to identify new drug candidates for the treatment of three tropical diseases, the Associated Press/Business Week reports. The scientists will test the efficacy of Pfizer drug candidates against sleeping sickness, visceral leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease.

19 Nov 2009

Pfizer and DNDi to battle against HAT, VL and Chagas disease

Pfizer Inc and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have signed an agreement that is designed to facilitate advancements in the battle against human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and Chagas disease, which afflict vulnerable populations in the developing world.

19 Nov 2009

Regulatory agencies offer marketing approval for new products to treat neglected diseases

New products to treat neglected diseases have received marketing approval from regulatory agencies at a steadily increasing rate in recent years as R&D funding for those diseases has increased, according to a recently completed study by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

18 Nov 2009

Drug companies collaborate with nonprofit organizations to fight "neglected" diseases in the developing world

Drug companies and nonprofit organizations are joining forces to develop new drugs and vaccines to target so-called "neglected" diseases that claim millions of lives in the developing world each year. Those hard-to-treat diseases include malaria, tuberculosis, dengue fever, and other conditions. That's the topic of the cover story scheduled for the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

12 Nov 2009

WHO, MSF highlight poor health situation in Southern Sudan

Three quarters of people in South Sudan, which has a population of 8 million, do not have access to health care, and 10 percent of children there and in Darfur die before the age of 1, Mohammad Abdur Rab, the WHO's representative to Sudan, said Thursday, Reuters/ABC News reports.

7 Nov 2009

Micro-injector may help rapid development of new generation of drugs

It's no bigger than a stamp packet but it has the potential to allow rapid development of a new generation of drugs and genetic engineering organisms, and to better control in-vitro fertilization.

5 Nov 2009

Scientists identify compounds that hold promise for treating parasitic infection

Using an unconventional approach that they designed, University of Pittsburgh drug discoverers and their collaborators at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have identified compounds that hold promise for treating leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection that many consider one of the world's most overlooked diseases.

4 Nov 2009

$3.9 million Challenge grant for Thomas Jefferson researchers

Four researchers from Thomas Jefferson University have received $3.9 million in Challenge grant funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

3 Nov 2009

Schering-Plough to donate $200,000 and vaccine for rabies-control projects in India

Schering-Plough Corporation today announced it has initiated sponsorship of two projects in India to reduce the incidence of human and animal rabies through improved educational awareness and mass vaccination of dogs. The company will donate $200,000 and rabies vaccine from Intervet/Schering-Plough as well as share expertise with partners to support successful implementation of the projects in ten villages surrounding Bangalore and Pune, India.

3 Nov 2009

Challenges in global health: rising to meet them could save millions of lives, say experts

Responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and tackling so-called neglected tropical diseases are the focus of the November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs. The articles, by leading global health experts from around the world, show that although these challenges differ dramatically, rising to meet them could save millions of lives.

3 Nov 2009

Tool to support the development of age-based dosing regimens for malaria drugs developed

Scientists at LSTM have developed a tool to support the development of appropriate age-based dosing regimens for malaria drugs. Weight-based dosing is challenging in many malaria endemic countries because access to formal health services is limited, functioning scales may be scarce and many treatments are given at home using antimalarials bought from shops and street vendors.

29 Oct 2009

Neglected Tropical Disease News and Research

GSK to offer scientists access to compounds, lab space to fight malaria

Recent releases in Global Health

MSF report names malnutrition, inadequate funds for HIV/AIDS, neglected diseases among top humanitarian crises of 2009

Survey examines disease R&D investment in 2008

Intellectual Property Watch examines WHO working group on drug development financing

New approach to protein misfolding may lead to novel therapies for a number of diseases

Recent releases in Global Health

ASTMH symposium illustrates the need to generate new medicines for infectious diseases

Elsevier journal Vaccine releases a supplement dedicated to vaccines for biodefense

Pfizer,DNDi partner to Identify NTD drugs; Sanofi-Aventis, medicines for malaria launch drug study

Pfizer and DNDi to battle against HAT, VL and Chagas disease

Regulatory agencies offer marketing approval for new products to treat neglected diseases

Drug companies collaborate with nonprofit organizations to fight "neglected" diseases in the developing world

WHO, MSF highlight poor health situation in Southern Sudan

Micro-injector may help rapid development of new generation of drugs

Scientists identify compounds that hold promise for treating parasitic infection

$3.9 million Challenge grant for Thomas Jefferson researchers

Schering-Plough to donate $200,000 and vaccine for rabies-control projects in India

Challenges in global health: rising to meet them could save millions of lives, say experts

Tool to support the development of age-based dosing regimens for malaria drugs developed

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