Advinus Therapeutics Pvt Ltd. and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a not-for-profit R&D organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, have entered into a collaboration for discovery and development of novel therapies for visceral leishmaniasis or kala azar, a fatal infectious disease of developing countries including India.
The collaboration, which has been agreed upon for an initial period of five years and may be extended if needed, will be the first of its kind in India to discover and develop novel therapies for this neglected disease. The collaboration has been formed to specifically address unmet patient needs as current treatments have significant drawbacks, either in terms of route of administration, length of treatment spanning 21 to 28 days and emerging parasitic resistance.
Uniting complementary capabilities in Europe and India, the collaboration brings together expertise in chemistry, biology, screening, and pre-formulation and will help to strengthen capacity in VL-endemic countries through training and networking. The goal of the project is to progress molecules proven to be safe and active against VL parasites in early-stage screening research through the first steps of regulatory safety assessment in the preclinical phase.
According to Dr Rashmi Barbhaiya, the CEO and managing director, Advinus, the collaboration reconfirms the commitment of the company towards developing drugs to treat neglected diseases. India is one of the few countries in the world that not only has the disease burden, but also the capability and capacity to research and develop new therapies for these diseases. The company with its extensive drug discovery and development expertise is uniquely positioned to address this need.
Dr Bernard Pecoul of DNDi stated that the partnership of Advinus and DNDi provides a critical catalyst in the development of drugs to treat visceral leishmaniasis and should serve as a model for future drug development for neglected diseases, in which public and private partners in the North and the South work together to bridge the gaps left by previous market and public policy failures.