Eisai Co., Ltd. has signed a statement of intent with the
World Health Organization (WHO) to supply free of charge of a primary medicine
for the treatment of lymphatic filariasis. The statement was signed by Mr.
Haruo Naito, Eisai President and CEO, and Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General
of WHO. This is the first time a Japanese pharmaceutical company has
established a partnership with WHO in an effort to combat the global health
issue of neglected tropical diseases.
In the statement of intent, Eisai agreed to produce and
supply to WHO free of charge up to 2.2 billion 100 mg tablets of
diethylcarbamazine (generic name, "DEC"), a medicine used to treat
lymphatic filariasis, in accordance with the high quality standards of WHO,
over a six year period between 2012 and 2017. This is in line with WHO's
forecast for the number of DEC tablets needed to help eliminate filariasis in
epidemic countries over this period. Production of the medicine is planned at
Eisai's Vizag Plant in India.
Eisai is working with WHO to finalize details of this program with the aim of
executing an official contract with WHO in the near future.
"Eisai's commitment to provide DEC greatly improves
prospects for interrupting the transmission of lymphatic filariasis," said
Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. "This contribution will
eventually close the gap in drug availability, particularly for poor countries
where most cases of this disease occur and the burden on health and society is
greatest."
Lymphatic filariasis can be treated with a combination of
two out of three anti-parasitic agents, one of which is DEC. Research has shown
that large-scale interventions in which all inhabitants of endemic areas are
administered DEC once a year for at least five years is effective in
eliminating the disease. Despite this, the current insufficient supply of DEC
has hindered global elimination efforts. As a global pharmaceutical company
committed to improving health of all individuals worldwide, Eisai has decided
to manufacture and supply DEC free of charge to WHO.
Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic disease that is
transmitted to humans by the bite of a mosquito. Once transmitted, it causes
lymphatic dysfunction that leads to other serious physical disabilities such as
elephantiasis, a severe condition in which a patient's lower extremities swell
up to resemble those of an elephant. Japan succeeded in eradicating
lymphatic filariasis in the late 1970s as a result of initiatives carried
out by the government in partnership with the public-private sector and became
the first country in the world to demonstrate the successful achievement of
lymphatic filariasis eradication using DEC. Currently, the disease still
affects an estimated 120 million people in 81 countries worldwide, most of whom
live in developing and emerging nations in Africa and South East Asia.
Lymphatic filariasis is a severe and debilitating infectious disease with heavy
economic costs, immobility and billions of dollars in lost productivity in
endemic countries.