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The French Development Agency commits €1.5 million to DNDi
The grant from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is to support the development of DNDi’s two new drugs for malaria artesunate/amodiaquine and artesunate/mefloquine, which combine two proven antimalarials in fixed doses in a single tablet. These new treatments offer significant advantages over existing treatments: a simpler dosage regimen with fewer tablets to take and, thereby, improved treatment compliance; as well as reduced cost of treatment.
The financial contribution of AFD, announced in June 2006, will be provided exclusively for the final stages of development of these two new treatments, e.g.:
• The first registration of the products in a malaria-endemic country in Africa, Asia and South America
• Technology transfer to industrial partners in the endemic countries for the production of these drugs
• Assistance to those in charge of national programmes in the countries concerned to help them include these new treatments in the existing national drug protocols.
"This partnership with DNDi stems from the commitment of AFD to support innovative initiatives with public and private partnerships, aimed not only at providing health solutions to populations in developing countries in need of appropriate treatments, but also at reinforcing the technological capacity and know-how of developing countries" Jean Michel Severino, Executive Director of AFD.
The support provided by AFD will play a determining role at this critical stage of DNDi’s FACT project. This project has brought together many public and private partners to research and develop these two new treatments. It has received financial support from Médecins sans Frontières, the European Union, the Swiss Development Cooperation, and the UK Department of International Development.
"This contribution of AFD, the first grant from France since the launch of DNDi, is an encouraging sign that, after the UK grants in early 2006, certain governments are starting to perceive the urgency to invest in R&D for neglected diseases" Dr Bernard Pecoul, Executive Director of DNDi.
The financial contribution of AFD, announced in June 2006, will be provided exclusively for the final stages of development of these two new treatments, e.g.:
• The first registration of the products in a malaria-endemic country in Africa, Asia and South America
• Technology transfer to industrial partners in the endemic countries for the production of these drugs
• Assistance to those in charge of national programmes in the countries concerned to help them include these new treatments in the existing national drug protocols.
"This partnership with DNDi stems from the commitment of AFD to support innovative initiatives with public and private partnerships, aimed not only at providing health solutions to populations in developing countries in need of appropriate treatments, but also at reinforcing the technological capacity and know-how of developing countries" Jean Michel Severino, Executive Director of AFD.
The support provided by AFD will play a determining role at this critical stage of DNDi’s FACT project. This project has brought together many public and private partners to research and develop these two new treatments. It has received financial support from Médecins sans Frontières, the European Union, the Swiss Development Cooperation, and the UK Department of International Development.
"This contribution of AFD, the first grant from France since the launch of DNDi, is an encouraging sign that, after the UK grants in early 2006, certain governments are starting to perceive the urgency to invest in R&D for neglected diseases" Dr Bernard Pecoul, Executive Director of DNDi.
Published by Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative - 1 Place St Gervais 1201 Geneva Switzerland - Photo credits: DNDi
Editor: Ann-Marie Sevcsik - Tel: +41 22 906 9230 - Fax: +41 22 906 9231 - www.dndi.org
Editor: Ann-Marie Sevcsik - Tel: +41 22 906 9230 - Fax: +41 22 906 9231 - www.dndi.org