DNDi operates through a virtual model of pharmaceutical R&D, implementing programmes with public and private partners from around the world. Our collaborations prioritize the most urgent treatment needs of neglected patients, value the respective interests of our partners, and enable us to keep development costs under control.

Benefits of partnering with DNDi

Partnering with DNDi on behalf of neglected patients can be an optimal strategy for pharma industry actors to fulfil corporate social responsibility objectives, engage in the fields of global health and neglected disease R&D, and motivate employees interested in delivering medical innovations for people in need.

For biotechs, collaborating with DNDi can be a win-win proposition, with potential benefits and synergies with existing programmes that are attractive to management and investors, including opportunities to:

• Participate in collaborative R&D programmes supported by public and major philanthropic donors
• Advance scientific proof of concept of compound activity or technology
• Increase understanding of healthcare market challenges in low- and middle-income countries
• Generate additional clinical data for development of safe and effective treatments
• Build experience conducting clinical trials in new geographies and settings
• Realize pragmatic, win-win licensing terms on intellectual property (IP), territory, and field that enable sustainable supply for manufacturers while allowing DNDi to deliver affordable treatments to neglected patients  

What are we looking for?

Accessing chemical diversity

• New compound classes with anti-parasitic activity
• New and diverse chemical libraries
• Synthetic small molecules
• Natural products

Harnessing know-how and technologies

• New screening assays able to target dormant/latent parasites
• Translational models of disease
• Innovative formulations or methods of administration
• Innovative artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) methods to accelerate the R&D process
• Predictive models of safety and toxicity
• ‘Open innovation’ approaches attracting more R&D for the needs of neglected patients
• Technologies and processes favouring low-cost manufacturing at low volumes

Partners with a global health mindset

• Manufacturers with business models to maximize patient access to treatments at sustainable margins (benefit corporations, Future-Fit companies)
• Efficient distribution networks minimizing mark-ups to ensure affordable prices
• Supply chain and procurement specialists to address barriers to access to medicines in resource-constrained countries
• Communications and in-country patient groups focusing on behaviour change to facilitate patient access to effective treatments for DNDi diseases