Novartis extends commitment to help achieve final elimination of leprosy
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Novartis International AG /
Novartis extends commitment to help achieve final elimination of leprosy
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* New five-year commitment includes donation of treatments worth an estimated
USD 22.5 million and is expected to reach an estimated 850,000 patients
* Novartis will also intensify efforts to build a multi-stakeholder initiative
in a final push against leprosy
* The company has a long history in fighting leprosy, donating medicines and
developing programs to support patients, valued at more than USD 100 million
since 1986
* Novartis is a part of an international effort to eliminate or control 10
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by the end of the decade
Basel, January 30, 2012 - Novartis will continue its work with the World Health
Organization (WHO) toward a world free of leprosy by extending its drug donation
of multidrug therapy (MDT) medicines to treat leprosy through the year 2020.
This new five-year commitment includes treatments worth an estimated USD 22.5
million and up to USD 2.5 million to support the WHO in handling the donation
and logistics, and is expected to reach an estimated 850,000 patients.
"Since 2000, we have worked with the WHO to provide free treatment to leprosy
patients globally, but we know that no single actor - no matter how committed to
patients - can eliminate this debilitating disease alone," said Joseph Jimenez,
CEO of Novartis. "We are proud to work with governments, international agencies,
nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to ensure that patients
receive the treatment they need. Only with effective and coordinated action by
all parties involved can we achieve our common goal of making leprosy history."
Novartis and the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development (NFSD) have a
long-term commitment to leprosy treatment and control. Prior to today's
announcement, Novartis has donated more than 48 million MDT blister packs valued
at approximately USD 77 million through the WHO, helping to cure over 5 million
leprosy patients worldwide.
The NFSD has been active in the fight against leprosy for more than 25 years,
through implementing innovative social marketing programs to reduce the stigma
attached to leprosy, developing tools to prevent disabilities, helping patients
reintegrate in society, and supporting the leprosy drug donation. Since 1986,
the NFSD has provided over CHF 30 million for these programs.
Donating drugs alone, however, is not enough, and NFSD is committed to intensify
efforts to build a multi-stakeholder initiative in a final push against leprosy.
On January 25, the NFSD, in cooperation with the Department of Health of the
Philippines, held the first Leprosy Stakeholders Symposium in Puerto Princesa
City, Palawan. The groundbreaking symposium gathered all major stakeholders and
partners from both government and private sectors with the goal of eliminating
leprosy in areas of the Philippines where the disease is still endemic.
The extension of the Novartis leprosy commitment is a key part of a new,
coordinated push by a diverse range of public and private collaborators to
combat 10 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2020. Today, 13 pharmaceutical
companies, the U.S. and U.K. governments, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
the World Bank and officials from NTD-endemic countries pledged to bring a
unique focus to defeating these diseases and to work together to improve the
lives of the billion people worldwide affected by NTDs.
In the largest coordinated effort to date to combat NTDs, the group announced at
an event at the Royal College of Physicians in London that they would: sustain
or expand existing drug donation programs to meet demand through 2020; share
expertise and compounds to accelerate research and development of new drugs; and
provide funding to support R&D efforts and strengthen drug distribution and
implementation programs. The collaborators also signed onto the "London
Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases," in which they pledged new levels of
collaboration and tracking and reporting of progress.
This announcement is a part of the company's long commitment to enhancing access
to healthcare in the developing world. Novartis works to discover vaccines and
medicines for neglected diseases through two research institutes: Novartis
Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) in Singapore and the Novartis Vaccines
Institute for Global Health (NVGH) in Italy. The Novartis Malaria Initiative is
one of the healthcare industry's largest access-to-medicine programs. Since
2001, Novartis has worked with a range of organizations to ensure effective
delivery of our antimalarial medicine, providing more than 480 million
treatments without profit.
In 2011, Novartis access-to-medicine programs reached more than 89 million
patients and together with our research institutes for diseases of the
developing world, are valued at USD 1.7 billion, or 3% of net sales.
About multidrug therapy (MDT) in treating leprosy
Since 1985, more than 14 million people worldwide have been cured of leprosy
thanks to MDT, the treatment recommended by the WHO, shrinking the worldwide
prevalence by approximately 95%. According to the WHO, in 2010 less than
230,000 new cases were reported, from a total of 130 countries worldwide.
Despite these successes, leprosy control remains at a critical juncture and
knowledge of the disease is becoming less common. Moving forward, early
detection and continued availability of free treatment are essential.
The development of MDT changed the face of leprosy dramatically. MDT consists of
three drugs (rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone), two of which (rifampicin and
clofazimine) were developed in the research laboratories of Novartis in the
1980s. Multidrug therapy has made it possible to cure patients, interrupt the
transmission of leprosy and prevent disabilities. Even patients with the
severest form of the disease show visible clinical improvement within weeks of
starting treatment.
About the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development
The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development is a nonprofit organization
whose activities form part of the Corporate Responsibility portfolio of Novartis
AG, which finances the foundation's operations. For over 30 years, the
foundation's mission has been to support healthcare programs in developing
countries. Its core competencies also include in-depth analysis, consulting and
publications in the fields of corporate responsibility and development policy.
By harnessing synergies between project work, think tank activities and the
facilitation of dialogue, it elaborates innovative strategies for common
development problems. In 2011, the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable
Development invested approximately CHF 10 million, largely in Africa and Asia.
For more information on the foundation and specific projects, visit:
www.novartisfoundation.org
Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains certain forward-looking statements that can be
identified by terminology such as "commitment," "expected," "plans," "goal," or
similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions potential future
deliveries of leprosy MDT drugs or related anti-leprosy services. You should not
place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements
reflect the current views of the Company regarding future events, and involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee
that Novartis will deliver any particular amounts of MDT or related services in
the future. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among
other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation
generally; unexpected manufacturing difficulties; competition in general;
government, industry, and general public pricing and other political pressures;
the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the
Novartis Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated
balance sheet; and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current
Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or
more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is
providing the information in these materials as of this date and does not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise.
About Novartis
Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving
needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis
offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines,
eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines and
diagnostic tools, over-the-counter and animal health products. Novartis is the
only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2011, the Group's
continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 58.6 billion, while
approximately USD 9.6 billion (USD 9.2 billion excluding impairment and
amortization charges) was invested in R&D throughout the Group. Novartis Group
companies employ approximately 124,000 full-time-equivalent associates and
operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information,
please visithttp://www.novartis.com.
Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow (at)Novartis at
http://twitter.com/novartis.
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Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 30.01.2012 - 12:01 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 108947
Anzahl Zeichen: 12674
contact information:
Town:
Basel
Kategorie:
Business News
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