• DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • COVID-19
      • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Research & development
      • R&D portfolio & list of projects
      • Drug discovery
      • Translational research
      • Clinical trials
      • Registration & access
      • Treatments delivered
    • Advocacy
      • Open and collaborative R&D
      • Transparency of R&D costs
      • Pro-access policies and IP
      • Children’s health
      • Gender equity
      • Climate change
      • AI and new technologies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • Dengue Alliance
      • HAT Platform
      • HELP Helminth Elimination Platform
      • LEAP Platform
      • redeLEISH Network
    • DNDi worldwide
      • DNDi Switzerland
      • DNDi DRC
      • DNDi Eastern Africa
      • DNDi Japan
      • DNDi Latin America
      • DNDi North America
      • DNDi South Asia
      • DNDi South-East Asia
      • DNDi Southern Africa
  • News & resources
    • News & stories
      • News
      • Stories
      • Statements
      • Viewpoints
      • Social media
      • eNews Newsletter
    • Press
      • Press releases
      • In the media
    • Resources
      • Scientific articles
      • Our publications
      • Videos
    • Events
  • About us
    • About
      • Who we are
      • How we work
      • Our strategy
      • Our donors
      • Annual reports
    • Our people
      • Our leadership
      • Our governance
      • Contact us
    • Work with us
      • Working at DNDi
      • Job opportunities
      • Requests for proposal
  • Donate
DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
  • Our work
    • Diseases
      • Sleeping sickness
      • Visceral leishmaniasis
      • Cutaneous leishmaniasis
      • Chagas disease
      • Filaria: river blindness
      • Mycetoma
      • Paediatric HIV
      • Cryptococcal meningitis
      • Hepatitis C
      • Dengue
      • COVID-19
      • Antimicrobial resistance
    • Research & development
      • R&D portfolio & list of projects
      • Drug discovery
      • Translational research
      • Clinical trials
      • Registration & access
      • Treatments delivered
    • Advocacy
      • Open and collaborative R&D
      • Transparency of R&D costs
      • Pro-access policies and IP
      • Children’s health
      • Gender equity
      • Climate change
      • AI and new technologies
  • Networks & partners
    • Partnerships
      • Our partners
      • Partnering with us
    • Global networks
      • Chagas Platform
      • Dengue Alliance
      • HAT Platform
      • HELP Helminth Elimination Platform
      • LEAP Platform
      • redeLEISH Network
    • DNDi worldwide
      • DNDi Switzerland
      • DNDi DRC
      • DNDi Eastern Africa
      • DNDi Japan
      • DNDi Latin America
      • DNDi North America
      • DNDi South Asia
      • DNDi South-East Asia
      • DNDi Southern Africa
  • News & resources
    • News & stories
      • News
      • Stories
      • Statements
      • Viewpoints
      • Social media
      • eNews Newsletter
    • Press
      • Press releases
      • In the media
    • Resources
      • Scientific articles
      • Our publications
      • Videos
    • Events
  • About us
    • About
      • Who we are
      • How we work
      • Our strategy
      • Our donors
      • Annual reports
    • Our people
      • Our leadership
      • Our governance
      • Contact us
    • Work with us
      • Working at DNDi
      • Job opportunities
      • Requests for proposal
  • Donate
Home > Press releases

Progress in Africa on medical R&D – from patient needs to new treatments

Nairobi, Kenya — 23 Jun 2009
Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print

Over 250 African and international health researchers, policymakers and three Ministers of Health (Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda) from 28 countries are meeting today in Nairobi at the 2nd international Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) stakeholder conference organised to stimulate greater regional research partnership to fight the most neglected diseases such as sleeping sickness, kala azar, malaria, and Chagas disease.

At this international conference on R&D for neglected diseases, two projects are being highlighted as showing tangible proof of how global and South-South collaboration are strengthening Africa’s capacity to conduct clinical trials and to develop new treatments for diseases: LEAP, an East African research partnership tackling kala azar, and NECT (Nifurtimox-Eflornithine Combination Therapy), an improved treatment for sleeping sickness.

“A new treatment for a most neglected disease and this encouraging clinical research partnership show how much can be achieved in Africa when researchers and clinicians get the support they need and work together to find innovative solutions for neglected diseases,” remarked Hon. Beth Mugo, Minister for Public Health and Sanitation, Government of Kenya.

Better treatments are still desperately needed by millions of the world’s poorest people as current therapies are often toxic, prohibitively expensive, or difficult to administer, particularly in resource-poor settings. However, little progress was made in the past thirty years: only 1.3% (21 out of 1,556) of new drugs developed from 1975 to 2004 were for neglected tropical diseases and tuberculosis, even though these diseases account for 12% of the global disease burden.

Because R&D was market driven, there was little incentive for companies to create medicines for neglected diseases affecting the poorest of the poor.Today, thanks to public and private investments and innovative models like Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, global and South-South collaboration, R&D for new medicines is making tangible progress in Africa. Multinationals are also taking a renewed interest in partnering with the public sector and in making their drug libraries and know-how available to develop new treatments.

“Developing countries have the ability to provide new solutions for neglected diseases, but every day we face an uphill battle to find home-grown capacity for research and development into diseases that affect our poor,” said Monique Wasunna, Assistant Director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the head of DNDi Africa. “By working together in regional, needs-driven research platforms, we have been able to do more in the past five years than had been done in the previous twenty years.”

In addition to new treatments, clinical research platforms for kala azar and sleeping sickness are helping African scientists overcome regional differences and address on-the-ground difficulties. Nine clinical studies with DNDi partners are ongoing or completed for new treatments for these diseases as well as malaria.

“We work closely with clinicians in rural hospitals to make sure that our medicines meet the real needs of patients and health workers in Africa. We help our partners by strengthening lab capacity and training on good clinical trial practice, but the real expertise of the diseases is already here on the ground, in the endemic countries,” remarked Dr. Bernard Pecoul, DNDi Executive Director. “Without our partners in Africa, true innovation to find the most adapted treatments for the most neglected patients would not be possible” he added.

R&D progress in Africa on neglected tropical diseases:

Sleeping Sickness – NECT (Nifurtimox-Eflornithine Combination Therapy) – the first new treatment option since 19 years against sleeping sickness, a fatal disease which threatens 60 million people across sub-Saharan Africa – has been added to the Essential Medicines List (EML) of the World Health Organization WHO. NECT,and is ready to be used after some of the most robust clinical evidence in the field of sleeping sickness was provided in a clinical study involving the national control programmes of the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Epicentre, Médecins Sans Frontières, the Swiss Tropical Institute and WHO. NECT was voted DNDi project of the year in 2008.

Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP): LEAP is a regional clinical research network that brings together experts from leishmaniasis-endemic East African countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda to develop combination therapies in Africa and enrolled over 1,000 patients since 2003. LEAP strengthens clinical research capacity, in some of the most remote and rural regions of Africa. This includes building and renovation hospital wards, clinics, and health posts; re-equipping clinical laboratories; and training health service personnel with particular emphasis on building expertise in clinical trial methodology. Good Clinical Practice and Ethics, patient evaluation, treatment and safety, accurate diagnosis, and follow-up by parasitology.

Malaria – ASAQ – fixed-dose combination (FDC) of artesunate and amodiaquine for use in sub- Saharan Africa; launched in March 2007; registered in 24 disease-endemic countries; in landmark partnership with sanofi-aventis; obtained WHO prequalification in October 2008; 5 million treatment courses delivered in 2008 in Africa  and more than 20 million forecast for 2009.

ASMQ – FDC of artesunate and mefloquine for treatment in Latin America and Asia; registered in Brazil in March 2008 in partnership with Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz; South-South technology transfer underway to Cipla for availability in Asia and Africa; in use by Brazilian national authorities. The new WHO prequalified medicine has now reached millions of patients in 24 sub-Saharan African countries.

For further information, please call:

Samantha Bolton on +254 (0)716 1979 19; sbolton@dndi.org

Ann-Marie Sevcsik on +41 (0)79 814 9147; amsevcsik@dndi.org

A video news release and photos are also available

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is an independent, not-for-profit drug development initiative established in 2003 working to research and develop new and improved treatments for neglected diseases such as leishmaniasis, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), Chagas disease, and malaria. DNDi was founded in 2003 by five publicly funded research institutions in Brazil, France, India, Kenya, and Malaysia, along with the humanitarian Organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

With the objective to address unmet patient needs for these diseases, DNDi has developed the largest ever R&D portfolio for the kinetoplastid diseases and has already made available two new antimalarial treatments: “ASAQ” in 2007 with sanofi-aventis, and “ASMQ” in 2008 with Farmanguinhos in Brazil. In December 2008, DNDi, Epicentre, and MSF released promising Phase III clinical study results of NECT (nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy), which show NECT is a safe, effective treatment for the advanced stage of HAT. To date, DNDi has secured funding from a number of public and private donors, including MSF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Significant funding has come from public donors including: the European Union, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. For further information, please consult www.dndi.org.

Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) is a leading health research Institution in Africa with a firm scientific foundation, physical infrastructure, resources and a global network. The vision of the Institute is to continue to be a leading centre of excellence in health research nationally, regionally, and internationally. KEMRI is one of the founding partners of DNDi, Established in 1979, KEMRI conducts health sciences research and is one of the leading health research institutions in Africa. With a focus on infectious and parasitic diseases, and on public health and biotechnology research, KEMRI has been making a significant contribution to regional research capacity for many years. For further information, please consult www.kemri.org.

Policy advocacy Partnership

Read, watch, share

Loading...
Davide Paparo and Ian Hausler with their thermotherapy device "CLARA"
Stories
16 Mar 2023

Cutaneous leishmaniasis: Swiss students develop innovative thermotherapy device for safer treatment of ‘flesh-eating parasite’

Stories
8 Mar 2023

Highlighting gender-based treatment gaps on International Women’s Day: Mary Alamak’s story

DNDi-GARDP Southern Africa director, Carol Ruffell (left), presents the December 2022 edition of HIV Nursing Matters and the 2022 paediatric ARV dosing chart to Bénédicte Schutz, Monaco’s Director of International Cooperation (centre), and Yordanos Pasquier, Monaco’s Deputy Director of International Cooperation (right).
News
3 Mar 2023

Working together to ensure optimal treatment for children living with HIV in South Africa

Nurse with patient
Press releases
1 Mar 2023

Fiocruz and DNDi sign strategic alliance agreement

Statements
28 Feb 2023

DNDi’s submission to the Technical Assessment component of the first Global Stocktake

Statements
22 Feb 2023

DNDi comments on the zero draft of the WHO CA+ for consideration of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body at INB4 & 5

Hat Platform Newsletter N°22 screenshot
Publications
22 Feb 2023

HAT Platform Newsletter No. 22

Lab activities
News
20 Feb 2023

First in-person Dengue Alliance meeting brings together experts from dengue-endemic countries to develop treatments for a growing viral threat

VIEW ALL

Help neglected patients

To date, we have delivered twelve new treatments, saving millions of lives.

Our goal is to deliver 25 new treatments in our first 25 years. You can help us get there. 

GIVE NOW
DNDi - Best Science for the Most Neglected 20 Years
Facebook-f
Twitter
Instagram
Linkedin-in
Youtube
International non-profit developing safe, effective, and affordable treatments for the most neglected patients.

Learn more

  • Diseases
  • Neglected tropical diseases
  • R&D portfolio
  • Policy advocacy

Get in touch

  • Our offices
  • Contact us
  • Integrity Line

Support us

  • Donate
  • Subscribe to eNews

Work with us

  • Join research networks
  • Jobs
  • RFPs
  • Terms of Use   
  •   Acceptable Use Policy   
  •   Privacy Policy   
  •   Cookie Policy   
  •   Our policies   

  • Except for images, films and trademarks which are subject to DNDi’s Terms of Use, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Switzerland License   
We use cookies to track our audience and improve our content. By clicking 'Accept All', you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click on 'Customize' to accept only some cookies.
Customize
REJECT ACCEPT ALL
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
elementorneverThis cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_16Q5RH3XRG2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_UA-10302561-11 minuteA variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
_hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to detect the first pageview session of a user. This is a True/False flag set by the cookie.
_hjFirstSeen30 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.
_hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's pageview limit.
_hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesHotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's daily session limit.
_hjSession_112884430 minutesHotjar sets this cookie.
_hjSessionUser_11288441 yearHotjar sets this cookie.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Targeting
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo