Novartis has announced a five-year financial commitment of $250 million to the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and malaria, in conjunction with the Kigali Summit on malaria and NTDs currently underway in Rwanda.
The drugmaker has also endorsed the Kigali Declaration, which aims to mobilize political will and secure commitments to achieve the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 3 on NTDs and to deliver the targets set out in the World Health Organization’s Neglected Tropical Disease Roadmap (2021-2030).
Over the course of five years (2021-2025), Novartis' $250 million investment will go towards advancing R&D of new treatments to combat NTDs and malaria. This includes $100 million earmarked for R&D in its neglected tropical disease program, focusing on novel drug candidates for four diseases — Chagas disease, Cryptosporidium infection, visceral leishmaniasis and dengue fever.
With regards to malaria, Novartis will use its $150 million investment to advance the clinical development programs of its three novel drug candidates to combat the emerging resistance to the current first-line malaria treatment, artemisinin. The company will also continue with activities to support the development of an optimized formulation for infants — for whom no treatment currently exists.