Following the World Health Organization (WHO)'s first global report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in 2010, which was critical of pharmaceutical players for not catering for NTDs, 13 pharma firms have agreed to collaborate with global health organisations, the World Bank, and various national governments on a deal to eradicate or at least control 10 of the 17 NTDs by 2020.
IHS Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | Global health organisations, the World Bank, governments (US, UK and neglected endemic countries) and 13 pharmaceutical companies have signed a partnership that will pool scientific know-how, research capabilities, and drug donations in a bid to eradicate or at least control 10 of the 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020. The partnership has been termed the "London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases". |
Implications | The declaration will see pharma companies donate over 14 billion doses of medicine by 2020, pledge more than USD785million funding and open their chemical libraries to research and development in a bid to develop new treatments. This will build the momentum in the elimination and control neglected tropical diseases at a time of severe financial constraints. |
Outlook | The collaboration will improve the health outcomes of millions of people and serve as a model for tackling future global development challenges. It however has the risk of making low income countries dependant on donations for the health programmes for such diseases instead of them building long term sustainable capacities to deal with these NTDs. For major pharma, the partnerships allow them to build a brand image and presence in these emerging markets. |
Global health organisations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), the World Bank, as well as national governments (led by the United States, the United Kingdom and those countries with endemic diseases), together with 13 of major pharmaceutical firms have signed a partnership that will pool scientific know-how, research capabilities and drug donations in a bid to eradicate or at least control 10 of the 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTD) by 2020. The partnership has been termed the "London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases". According to the World Health Organization (WHO) forum, the 17 neglected tropical diseases are dengue, rabies, blinding trachoma, buruli ulcer, endemic treponematoses, leprosy, chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, cysticercosis, drancunculiasis (Guinea worm disease), echinococcosis, food-borne trematode infections, lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), onchocerciasis (river blindness), schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) and soli-transmitted helminthiases (intestinal worms). The pharma firms joining the programme have agreed to give away 14 billion doses of medicines by the end of this decade alone. In addition, the group has promised to share expertise and work together to invent new treatments and medicines for such diseases. The partnership has pledged more than USD785 million to support NTD research and development (R&D) and strengthen drug distribution and treatment programmes. With the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announcing a five-year USD363-million funding commitment to support NTD product and operational research.
Adding the new pledges to existing individual commitments, the 13 drug companies include Pfizer (US), Merck Serono (Germany), Johnson & Johnson (US), Sanofi (France), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK; UK), Novartis (Switzerland) Eisai (Japan), and Abbott (US). Additional funding for the programme will come from the UK, the US and United Arab Emirates, the Gates Foundation and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, while the World Bank agreed to extend funding to African countries for building health systems better able to integrate NTD elimination and control.
Selected Pharma Agreements | ||
Company | Disease | Details of Agreement |
Abbott | Chagas disease, helminth infections, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness and other diseases |
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Merck Serono | Schistosomiasis |
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Sanofi-Eisai | Lymphatic filariasis, human African trypanosomiasis |
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Novartis | Leprosy |
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GSK | Lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness, visceral leishmaniasis, soil-transmitted helminths, dengue, Chagas and other unspecified NTDs |
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Source: Company Press Releases. | ||
Outlook and Implications
The London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases pools resources and boosts the momentum required to eliminate and control NTDs at a time of severe financial constraints globally. The declaration brings together various health organisations, governments and developmental organisations in a bid to significantly improve the lives of the billion people worldwide, including approximately 500 million children, affected by NTDs. The partnership will see drug makers and the DNDi grant access to large portfolios of chemical compounds for development, which could lead to the discovery of new treatments. The collaboration would help improve the health outcomes of millions of people and serve as a model for tackling future global development challenges. There is an accompanying risk, however, of making low-income countries dependent on donations for their health programmes in relation to such diseases instead of building long-term sustainable capacities.
This deal follows the WHO's first global report on neglected tropical diseases in 2010 which said that while NTDs cost billions of dollars in lost productivity, they are often ignored because they affect mainly poor people and do not offer a profitable market for drug makers. With the growing economic potential of emerging markets, however, pharma firms have found a new incentive to promote their brands and presence in these markets, and with most of these markets dependent on international health organisations for the provision of healthcare services, partnerships with such organisations have become vital.
With most of the involved pharma firms having already established neglected disease programmes with various health organisations and medicine-access programmes for emerging markets, this collaboration expands and builds existing relationships, particularly with the WHO and DNDi. This announcement is a part of the long-term commitment of international health organisations and pharma firms to enhancing access to healthcare in the developing world, in turn building the presence of the latter in these countries.