Like in 2009 in Nairobi, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) brought together more than 150 Indian and international health researchers, policy makers, experts from 22 countries on December 3rd, at the Constitutional Club in New Delhi for the 3rd International Partners meeting organized by DNDi in collaboration with Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), to stimulate greater regional research partnership to fight the most neglected diseases such as Kala-azar sleeping sickness, malaria and Chagas disease.
Hon’ble Union Minister Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare was invited to open this international meeting in presence of Dr. V.M. Katoch, Secretary to Government of India, Department of Health research and Director General of ICMR.
During this meeting, two projects were highlighted as DNDi’s successes of the Year 2010 respectively. These projects showed important breakthroughs in research and development for neglected diseases and global collaboration between scientists from over the world.
Agenda
If you would like to download the Agenda, please click here.
Programme
If you would like to download the Programme, please click here.
Presentations
Session 1: Opening Ceremony and Presentation of DNDi Strategy
Chaired by Marcel Tanner / Bhawna Sharma
1. Inauguration and Opening Ceremony
2. Welcoming Remarks
3. Needs of Neglected Patients – Focus on India & Asia – by Bhawna Sharma (DNDi) [download 974KB]
4. Review of DNDi Activities – by Bernard Pécoul (DNDi) [download 2.3MB]
5. Announcement of DNDi‘s “Success Stories” of the Year (Partnership / Project of the Year)
Session 2: Success to Pave the Way for the Future of PDPs Model
Chaired by Monique Wasunna / Lalit Kant
1. From Patient Needs to Implementation of New Treatments
– VL Combination Therapies – by Shyam Sundar
(Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, India) [download 2.8MB]
– Fixed-Dose ACTs for Malaria – by Neena Valecha
(National Institute of Malaria Research, India) [download 2.1MB]
2. Discovery and Lead Optimisation Programs: A future generation of drugs for neglected diseases –
and – by Rashmi Barbhaiya (Advinus) and Yves Ribeill (SCYNEXIS) [ download part 1, 1.MB, part 2, 672KB]
Session 3: Advocacy for Access & Sustainability of the Model
Chaired by Bennett Shapiro / Carlos Morel
1. Sustainability of PDP’s Model- by Nirmal K Ganguly (Transnational Health Science and Technology Institute, India) [download 693KB]
2. Advocacy for Access – by Unni Karunakara (MSF)[download 312KB]
Session 4
Chaired by Marcel Tanner / Vishwa Mohan Katoch
1. Next priorities in terms of diseases – Evolution of DNDi portfolio – by Shing Chang (DNDi) [download 1MB]
2. Movie preview “1 $ fpr 1 life” documentary
3. Concluding remarks
Press Release
If you would like to download the Press Release, please click here.
Videos
Partnership of the Year
The “Partnership of the Year” award went to the Institute Pasteur Korea (IPK) programme for an important technological breakthrough on drug discovery in the field of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) also known as Kala-azar, and other neglected diseases. The main goal of the partnership has been to develop a method that would allow the testing of thousands of compounds in a very short period of time. Until 2008, it was only possible to assess hundreds of compounds in a few months. DNDi and IPK have developed a new method called “high throughput image screening” for Kala-azer. Utilising both the intellectual and technological capacities of IPK, this project seeks to develop a major methodological advance in drug development.
Project of the Year
The “Project of the year” award went to the Visceral Leishmaniasis Combination Therapies project in India. This clinical research study, completed in 2010, showed that three combination therapies of existing drugs for Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), also known as Kala-azar, are highly efficacious and offer shorter, safer and cheaper treatment options than the current standard monotherapy treatment available in the region.
1$ for 1 Life
A documentary by the filmmaker Frédéric Laffont
Press Articles
To read the article “Together they can…” of Express Pharma, click here.
