Another foray into neglected diseases as GlaxoSmithKline extends partnership with Brazil's Fiocruz

UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and the Brazil-based Oswald Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) have announced a new collaboration to research and develop innovative medicines to treat diseases which disproportionately affect people living in the world’s poorest countries.

Last year, the two parties established a new R&D collaboration program at Fiocruz to develop a vaccine for dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease that globally places 2.5 billion people at risk of infection (The Pharma Letter August 18, 2009). More recently, GSK outlined its strategy for research on rare diseases, as well as signing additional collaborations (TPL October 19).

This latest collaborative framework builds on a long-standing relationship between Fiocruz and GSK, established in 1985, to manufacture vaccines for public health priorities in Brazil. These include polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), measles, mumps, rubella, rotavirus and, most recently, pneumococcal disease. The relationship has also supported the development of research and manufacturing capabilities in Brazil through technology transfer and scientific collaboration.