Benin

Praziquantel Donation Program

Merck KGaA’s Praziquantel Donation Program, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to fight schistosomiasis in Africa. Schistosomiasis is a parasitic worm disease that is the second most prevalent and devastating parasitic disease in tropical countries after malaria. Infection occurs when human skin comes into contact with fresh water contaminated by snails carrying the schistosome parasites, which migrate through the body and spread the infectious disease. It represents the 2nd most severe burden for African children after malaria, and is considered as one of the most neglected tropical diseases. The consequences of an infection are particularly serious for children, as schistosomiasis stunts growth and cognitive development and also lead to anemia. WHO reports more than 200 million infected people in Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast and the Western Pacific.

ViiV Healthcare Access to ARVs

In the Least Developed Countries and sub-Saharan Africa GlaxoSmithKline has offered its HIV/AIDS medicines at not-for-profit (nfp) prices since 2001. ViiV Healthcare will maintain this commitment, and will include the additional products in its portfolio. All of ViiV Healthcare's ARVs are now available at not-for-profit prices to public sector customers and not-for-profit organizations in all Least Developed Countries and all of sub-Saharan Africa - 64 countries in total.

Sanofi-aventis: Impact Malaria

The Impact Malaria program embodies sanofi-aventis' longstanding commitment to fight malaria. Sanofi-aventis is researching new treatments that are affordable, adapted to patients' needs, especially children, and can help circumvent growing resistance to existing medicines. The most advanced projects are ferroquine for uncomplicated malaria, developed with Lille University and 'bicationic compounds' for severe malaria with Montpellier University, both in Phase II clinical trials. Upstream projects include development of 'trioxaquins' with Palumed in Toulouse.

Sanofi-aventis & EPIVAC

EPIVAC (from EPIdemiology & VACcinology) is a comprehensive, one-year, on-the-job professional training program in epidemiology, applied computing, vaccinology and management of health programs for public health officers in West Africa, culminating in an inter-university diploma in 'Organization and Management of Public Immunization Programs in Developing Countries' awarded by the universities of Cocody-Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Paris-Dauphine (France). The program is a Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis, contribution to the GAVI Alliance.

PMTCT: Abbott Rapid HIV Test Donation Program

Each year, approximately 800,000 babies around the world become infected with HIV during their mothers´ pregnancy, during birth or through breastfeeding.

Pfizer Diflucan Partnership

Pfizer created the Diflucan Partnership in 2000 to provide treatment for two AIDS-related fungal infections in developing countries. Since the program's inception, Pfizer has over provided USD 1.1 billion of products and its program partners distribute millions of Diflucan (fluconazole) treatments free of charge to governments and NGOs in 63 developing countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. Pfizer has also provided training and education materials to 20,000 healthcare professionals.

Novo Nordisk: Differential Pricing on Insulin

Among the targets for UN Millennium Development Goal 8 is a call for partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries. Since 2001, Novo Nordisk has offered human insulin to the public health systems in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at prices which do not to exceed 20% of the average price in Europe, Japan and North America. In 2009, Novo Nordisk offered this pricing scheme to all 49 LDCs, of which 36 used it to buy insulin at or below this price, compared to 32 in 2008.

Novartis R&D for Malaria

Novartis is focusing on the development of a one-dose cure for P. falciparum, the most dangerous form of malaria, and a curative modality for P. vivax, the most frequent-occurring and widely distributed type of malaria.

Novartis Coartem

Coartem is the first World Health Organization-prequalified fixed-dose, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) antimalarial, approved by stringent regulatory authorities and on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. Coartem is fast-acting and cures over 97% of patients after a 3-day treatment course. Coartem combines artemether, a derivative of artemisinin (from the Chinese medicinal plant Artemisia annua), with a synthetic substance, lumefantrine, which has not been used as a monotherapy.

Merck Praziquantel Donation Program

In April 2007, Merck signed a partnership agreement with the World Health Organization to supply 200 million tablets of Cesol® 600 (praziquantel) for the treatment and prevention of schistosomiasis over a 10 year period.

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