Big Pharma and neglected diseases

The BS and the Mint recently carried stories on Pfizer’s announcement that it will focus its R&D efforts on diseases affecting developing countries such as India. As of now Pfizer seeks to target diseases such as cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and inflammation, with special emphasis on the regional characteristics of the ailments. Pfizer will also work on certain vaccines and other unmet medical needs. However it remains to be seen whether Pfizer actually translates its words into actions or whether this is a mere public relations exercise.

On a different note SpicyIP noticed that none of the above mentioned diseases are neglected diseases such as TB or Malaria, both of which are plaguing the developing world. We however did a random search on the R&D efforts into these neglected diseases and came out with some pretty interesting results. Contrary to common perception pharmaceutical majors are quite involved in developing drugs for neglected diseases. The business model however is not profit-oriented but instead depends on highly subsidized R&D through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). The operating fundamentals of these PPPs is simple – money (mostly from well endowed charities such as the Bill-Melinda Gates Foundation ) is donated for R&D to pharma majors following which any product of the successful research venture will be sold on a no-profit, no-loss basis. The main advantage of these PPPs is that they link the funding and logistical networks of charitable organizations to the impressive R&D infrastructure of MNCs. Only MNCs have libraries of millions of compounds and the adequate capabilities in medicinal chemistry to efficiently develop lead compounds to tackle the neglected diseases. Click here for a detailed note on some of these ventures.

The three most successful organizations – MMV, DNDI and the TB Alliance are all non-profit organizations. They all attempt to share R&D results in a bid to improve efficiency. GSK, Bayer and Novartis are TB Alliance partners. Lupin is involved in the TB Alliance Project and is in partnership with CSIR. Ranbaxy was a partner in the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) until it pulled out in September, 2007. Similarly the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI) is partnering with drug majors like GSK to develop drugs for neglected diseases such as Leishmaniasis (Kala Azar). Even Sanofi-Aventis is in partnership with DNDI and introduced a successful anti-malarial drug for less than a $1 in Africa. Similarly Novartis developed Coartem with the Institute for Microbiology and Epidemiology in Beijing by combining a traditional Chinese plant-based remedy with a synthetic substance which has a 95% cure rate and is one of the most effective drugs in the market. These drugs are being supplied to WHO for distribution in Africa at no profit, no loss to Novartis. Pfizer is spearheading a similar venture in Africa which is aimed at eliminating Trachoma a disease that causes blindness.

This brings us to the million dollar question – why are the drug companies in such an altruistic mood? According to Bernard Pécoul, executive director of DNDI, a doctor and public health specialist who spearheaded the antimalaria project “It’s good for their image,” he says, “but it will also help with the penetration of these countries’ markets.” Building up business networks and contacts in countries where they have no marketing as of now is indeed important to these companies in the long run. The image make over is desperately needed especially after the disastrous patent litigation in South Africa and India. Just think of it as a really smart, zero-cost advertising campaign by the drug companies.