Overview

Despite major advances in drug development in recent decades, essential medicines to treat many diseases that affect the world’s poor are either too expensive, no longer produced, highly toxic, or ineffective. Recognising these issues from its field experience, Médecins Sans Frontières committed its 1999 Nobel Peace Prize funds to develop an alternative model for the research and development (R&D) of new drugs for neglected diseases.

As a result, in 2003, seven organisations from around the world joined forces to establish DNDi: five public sector institutions – the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation from Brazil, the Indian Council for Medical Research, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, the Ministry of Health of Malaysia and France’s Pasteur Institute; one humanitarian organisation, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF); and one international research organisation, the UNDP/World Bank/WHO’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), which acts as a permanent observer to the initiative.

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development (R&D) organization that is developing new treatments for malaria, visceral leishmaniasis (VL), sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis, HAT), and Chagas disease.

Working in partnership with industry, academia and NGOs, DNDi has built the largest ever R&D portfolio for the kinetoplastid diseases and currently has seven clinical/post-registration and four preclinical projects underway. DNDi successfully delivered two antimalarial products in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Acting in the public interest, DNDi bridges the existing R&D gaps in essential drugs for these diseases by initiating and coordinating drug R&D projects in collaboration with the international research community, the public sector, the pharmaceutical industry, and other relevant partners. The initiative’s primary objective is to deliver six to eight new treatments by 2014 for these diseases and to establish a strong R&D portfolio. In doing so, DNDi is also working to use and strengthen existing capacities in disease-endemic countries, and raise awareness and advocate for the need to develop new treatments for the most neglected diseases.

DNDi is based in Geneva with a team of 30 permanent scientific researchers and various professionals. The organization has an affiliate in North America along with 4 regional support offices in Kenya, India, Brazil, and Malaysia; and 2 regional project support offices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Japan.