Eisai Co., Ltd. has announced the results of its initiatives for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF), and its continued support of this cause in the future. This announcement was made at an event held in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 18, marking the 5th anniversary of the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), an international public-private partnership.
Announced in January 2012, the London Declaration is the largest public-private partnership in the field of global health, and represents a coordinated effort by global pharmaceutical companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States, United Kingdom and NTD-endemic country governments, as well as other partners, to eliminate 10 NTDs by the year 2020. Since the signing of the London Declaration, donations of medical treatments by pharmaceutical companies have increased by 70 percent, and these treatments contribute to the prevention and cure of disease in approximately 1 billion people every year.
Under the London Declaration, Eisai signed an agreement with WHO to supply 2.2 billion high-quality diethylcarbamazine (DEC) tablets, which were running in short supply worldwide, at Price Zero (free of charge) by the year 2020. These DEC tablets are manufactured at Eisai's Vizag Plant in India. As of the end of March 2017, 1 billion tablets have been supplied to 27 endemic countries. In addition to the supply of DEC tablets, Eisai employees have been cooperating with WHO, local governments, and other partners to support local elimination efforts, through Mass Drug Administrations (MDA), disease awareness campaigns, improvements in sanitation, and other activities.
Furthermore, Eisai has collaborated with other pharmaceutical companies, WHO, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and freely provide new, low-cost diagnostic kits for LF which do not require a temperature-controlled supply chain. As a result of these activities under the London Declaration, a total of eight out of 73 endemic countries have eliminated LF as a public health threat, with a further 10 currently waiting on surveillance results to verify elimination. Eisai will continue to promote comprehensive support activities so that even more countries can achieve elimination by 2020, and in light of the current elimination progress, also provide a stable and high-quality supply of DEC tablets to the endemic countries that need them beyond 2020, until complete elimination is achieved.
Eisai seeks to contribute to the health and welfare of people in developing and emerging countries. Once they have recovered their health, they can resume productive activities, which will in turn contribute to economic development and expansion of the middle-income class. Eisai considers this to be a long term investment in creating the markets of the future. In addition to supplying DEC tablets free of charge, Eisai is also actively engaged in partnerships with governments, international organizations, academia, and non-profit private sector organizations to develop new drugs for NTDs, tuberculosis and malaria. Through these initiatives, Eisai seeks to make further contributions to patients and their families worldwide and increase the benefits that health care provides them.