DNDi and 4 pharma firms enter 'drug discovery booster' experiment

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and four pharmaceutical companies have announced the start of a ground-breaking initiative to accelerate and cut the cost of early stage drug discovery for two of the world's most neglected diseases, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

The 'Neglected Tropical Diseases Drug Discovery Booster' consortium, which includes Eisai (TYO: 4523), Shionogi (TYO: 4507), Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4502) and AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN), through a carefully engineered modus operandi, will circumvent early stage commercial barriers between the four pharmaceutical participants, allowing DNDi, for the first time, to search millions of unique compounds simultaneously, in the hunt for new treatment leads for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

'This experimental approach to radically modernize drug development for neglected diseases is the result of a decade of growing partnerships with pharmaceutical companies', said Dr Bernard Pécoul, executive director of DNDi, adding: 'This experiment could significantly reduce the time and money it takes to find new, promising treatment leads, and echoes the great potential of innovative research and development collaborations.'