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Geneva, 24 April 2008 – The IFPMA is today publishing its 2008 “Partnerships to Build Healthier Societies in the Developing World”. The new edition documents a total of 155 long-term programs

Growing Industry Efforts to Address HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, Child & Maternal Health, and Chronic Diseases in Developing Countries

New Online Partnerships Database Shows Programs in Each Developing Country

Geneva, 24 April 2008 – The IFPMA is today publishing its 2008 “Partnerships to Build Healthier Societies in the Developing World”.  The new edition documents a total of 155 long-term programs for specific diseases in the developing world with the help of R&D-based pharmaceutical companies, compared to 135 in the 2007 edition.  The number of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs has increased from 78 to 82, while those for child and maternal health, plus chronic diseases, have grown from 28 to 43.  These programs can also be found in a new searchable online Health Partnerships database (see http://www.ifpma.org/healthpartnerships).  The database allows listing of programs by developing country, by disease area, by program type and by partner organization.

IFPMA Director General Dr. Harvey Bale said: “During my eleven years with the IFPMA, industry-supported public private partnerships to improve health in the developing world have grown significantly.  These programs are effective and resilient; for example, this year marks the 10^th anniversary of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, supported by GlaxoSmithKline and Merck & Co., Inc.  Industry’s partnership effort is also responsive to emerging needs, as shown through the increase in programs to improve the health of women and children, and to address the growing threat of chronic disease in developing countries.”

“Industry-backed partnerships are also responding to the challenges posed by inadequate health infrastructure in developing countries”, continued Dr. Bale.  “Searching the new IFPMA database shows that that 78 of the 155 disease-specific programs involve capacity building activities, helping to reinforce health care systems in beneficiary countries.  The database also provides other insights, for example, showing that there are 36 industry-backed programs active in Kenya, that industry is involved in 11 programs for diabetes, and that the industry is partnering with the World Health Organization in 28 programs.”

The IFPMA is working on a range of partnerships initiatives to address unmet developing world health needs, including:

• A Network for Neglected Disease Discovery, to share disease targets between industry and other research groups, allowing them to be screened against company compound libraries.

• A Sustainable R&D Funding Initiative, to lay the foundations for adequate funding for neglected disease R&D, by identifying needs to extend and complete existing portfolios.

• A Capacity Development Program, to use industry and other expert resources to help address serious shortfalls in health care and regulatory capacity in many developing countries.

• A Supply Chain Initiative, to make industry expertise available to help develop robust medicine supply chains in developing countries.

• A Pediatric Medicines Task Force, to examine how the industry can help increase the availability of medicines for children, in response to the WHO’s new “Make Medicines Child Sized” initiative.

The IFPMA also made a grant of USD 1 million earlier this year to TDR - the UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank and WHO Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases - to support its development of new medicines to combat developing world diseases.

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About the IFPMA:

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations is the global non-profit NGO representing the research-based pharmaceutical, biotech and vaccine sectors.  Its members comprise 25 leading international companies and 44 national and regional industry associations covering developed and developing countries.  The industry’s R&D pipeline contains hundreds of new medicines and vaccines being developed to address global disease threats, including cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS and malaria.  The IFPMA Clinical Trials Portal (http://www.ifpma.org/clinicaltrials), the IFPMA’s Ethical Promotion online resource (http://www.ifpma.org/EthicalPromotion/) and its Health Partnerships information (www.ifpma.org – Developing World) help make the industry’s activities more transparent.  The IFPMA strengthens patient safety by improving risk assessment of medicines and combating their counterfeiting.  It also provides the secretariat for the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH).

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