Public Voting Underway Through May 31 – Finalist with Most Votes Will Receive Award
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) was selected as one of two finalists for the Rockefeller Foundation’s “Next Century Innovators Awards”, recognizing innovative organizations working to improve conditions for vulnerable populations around the world.
From among 1000 nominations, DNDi was chosen for its innovative approach to research and development (R&D) to develop new treatments addressing the urgent health needs of the world’s most neglected people, and in particular its unique model, which pulls together existing research capacity around well-defined goals in a way that de-links the cost of R&D from the price of the final product, guaranteeing patient access and affordability.
Both finalists have now entered a public online voting process through May 31. The finalist with the most votes will be a recipient of one of the Next Century Innovators Awards and will be honored at the 2013 Innovation Forum in addition to having the opportunity to apply for a $100,000 grant.
DNDi was created 10 years ago by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and five public sector research organizations to discover and develop new, effective, affordable, and field-adapted treatments for some of the most neglected patients suffering from diseases like African sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease. Since 2003, DNDi has delivered six new treatments for neglected patients, which have reached millions of people – placing patients, not profits, at the center of drug development.
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About DNDi
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for-profit research and development (R&D) organization working to deliver new treatments for neglected diseases, in particular human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, filaria, and pediatric HIV. DNDi was established in 2003 by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation from Brazil, the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, and the Institut Pasteur of France. The WHO Special Programme for Tropical Disease Research (TDR) serves as a permanent observer. Since 2003, DNDi has delivered six new treatments for malaria, sleeping sickness, visceral leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease.
www.dndi.org
Media contact:
Oliver Yun, Communications Manager, DNDi North America (New York)
Tel: +1-646-616-8681 / Mobile +1-646-266-5216 / oyun@dndi.org
