Pfizer and DNDi enter tropical disease partnership
To support the development of improved treatments for neglected African diseases
Pfizer and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) are to support the development of improved treatments for neglected African diseases such as human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and Chagas disease. The companies have signed an agreement that will give DNDi access to the Pfizer library of drug candidates, in order to screen it for compounds that have the potential to be developed into new treatments.
Under the agreement, DNDi scientists will test at least 150,000 compounds against the parasites that cause HAT, VL and Chagas disease.
The screening will be carried out at the Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies, Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia for HAT and the Institut Pasteur Korea, for VL and Chagas disease.
"This will accelerate and significantly increase the chances of success in the search for effective new drugs against serious infections that disproportionately affect the poor," said Dr Sam Azoulay, senior vice president of medical and development at Pfizer's Emerging Markets Business Unit.
"This marks an important step towards DNDi's objective of building a robust portfolio and to feed the research and development pipeline with new promising compounds," added Dr Shing Chang, r&d director at DNDi.
