Today the research-based pharmaceutical industry announced donations of 14 billion treatments this decade to support the elimination or control of nine key neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Averaging 1.4 billion treatments annually, the donations build upon companies' existing medicines donation programmes which already reach millions of people around the world. Today's announcement comes in conjunction with an NTD collaboration comprised of pharmaceutical companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US and UK governments, international organisations, and endemic countries' national governments.
At least one billion people worldwide - one person in seven - suffer from NTDs. Each year NTDs disproportionately kill or disable millions of poor people primarily in tropical and subtropical areas.
These donations follow a World Health Organisation (WHO) announcement of new targets for NTDs whose elimination or control is achievable with adequate supply and distribution of the relevant medicines. For maximum impact, these donations focus on those nine NTDs that represent more than 90 percent of the global NTD burden.
"For decades individual pharmaceutical companies have researched, developed, and donated medicines to fight disease and improve patients' lives," said Eduardo Pisani, Director-General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA). "Today the research-based pharmaceutical industry jointly pledges a further 14 billion treatments to help end these debilitating diseases. This is our commitment as partners to help end NTDs and improve patient health." In addition to medicine donations, the research-based pharmaceutical industry supports the fight against NTDs with capacity-building efforts in developing countries and medical innovation. The research-based pharmaceutical industry was the second largest funder of R&D for neglected diseases in 2010, reaching more than USD 500 million.