DNDi welcomes GHIT support for new collaboration with Eisai for dengue and Zika virus disease

Tokyo — 30 Jan 2025

The non-profit medical research organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) welcomes the financial support of the Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund for a new collaboration on drug discovery for dengue fever and Zika virus disease with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai Co., Ltd. (Eisai) with a grant of approximately EUR 77 thousand/JPY 12.7 million.

During the one-year project that started in November 2024, Eisai and DNDi aim to identify drug seeds that will serve as the starting point for new drug development. The two partners will search for compounds that exhibit antiviral activity against dengue virus and Zika virus, with the aim of screening approximately 20,000 compounds in Eisai’s compound libraries.

Dengue fever and Zika virus disease are flavivirus infections prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Like malaria, these diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes. Climate change – including warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns – is increasing the geographical spread and scale of outbreaks of these mosquito-borne diseases. It is predicted that approximately 4 billion people worldwide will be at risk of infection in the future. Currently, there are no effective drugs for these flavivirus infections. Medicines that can treat the diseases – and prevent mild cases from becoming severe – are urgently needed.

Eisai and DNDi have partnered on the discovery and development of new drugs for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases, such as leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and mycetoma since 2009. Those projects have been supported by GHIT Fund since 2013.

About DNDi

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for-profit medical research organization that discovers, develops, and delivers safe, effective, and affordable treatments for neglected people. DNDi is developing medicines for sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, river blindness, mycetoma, dengue, paediatric HIV, advanced HIV disease, cryptococcal meningitis, and hepatitis C. Its research priorities include children’s health, gender equity and gender-responsive R&D, and diseases impacted by climate change. Since its creation in 2003, DNDi has joined with public and private partners across the globe to deliver thirteen new treatments, saving millions of lives. dndi.org