Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca PLC, Bayer AG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Eisai Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Johnson & Johnson, Merck KgaA, Merck & Co., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc. Sanofi SA., government groups and health charities will work together in a push to eliminate or control by 2020 10 tropical diseases that affect more than a billion people in poor countries. The drugmakers will donate medicines, research work, access to patented drug compounds and other assistance.
The partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, call it the largest coordinated effort ever to combat neglected tropical diseases. The government groups and charities alone are committing just over $785 million in new funding.
The drugmakers are donating billions of doses of their medicines over the rest of the decade, but did not attribute a value to them. The companies also will work together to speed up development of new treatments, and the partners will work on improving drug delivery and treatment programs, including prevention and education. The diseases include leprosy, sleeping sickness and river blindness.