Novartis Foundation launches new leprosy strategy at symposium on disease elimination
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Novartis Foundation launches new leprosy strategy at symposium on disease
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* Experts present lessons learned from past control programs and new
approaches to eliminating diseases such as leprosy and malaria.
* The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development (NFSD) launches a new
strategy to help eliminate leprosy.
* For over 15 years, the annual symposium of the Novartis Foundation has
provided an important platform for stakeholder dialogue on development and
health policy issues.
Basel, November 29, 2013 - Today's symposium of the Novartis Foundation for
Sustainable Development (NFSD) convenes experts to discuss "What does it take to
eliminate a disease?" Drawing lessons from previous successful disease control
programs, the symposium speakers discuss innovative approaches and advocate for
new coordination strategies in disease elimination efforts.
The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development today also announces the
launch of a new leprosy strategy based on the consensus reached by a group of
leading experts earlier this year. The new strategy focuses on interrupting
leprosy transmission through early diagnosis and treatment, contact tracing of
former patients, diagnostic tools and strict surveillance and response.
"As part of our pledge to fight neglected diseases in the developing world,
Novartis and the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development are committed
to going the last mile to help make leprosy history," says Joseph Jimenez, CEO
of Novartis, in an address to the symposium today. "This devastating disease is
curable and I am proud that our donation of multidrug therapy (MDT) has helped
treat over 5 million patients since 2000."
Thanks to the availability of MDT, according to the World Health Organization
(WHO), more than 15 million patients have been cured of leprosy since 1981,
shrinking the worldwide prevalence by approximately 95%. Over the past eight
years, however, the number of newly diagnosed leprosy patients has plateaued at
around 230,000 cases per year. As experience with other disease control programs
has shown, going the last mile is often the hardest. Waning knowledge means that
as prevalence decreases, so do political will and funding.
"The key to eradicating smallpox was a comprehensive approach including the
availability of an effective, heat stable vaccine, epidemiological surveillance,
thorough research, involvement of local communities as well as strong management
and commitment by the respective governments," says Professor Donald Henderson,
former Head of the WHO's Smallpox Eradication Campaign. "Current elimination
programs can also draw on these lessons learned."
Moving forward, the Novartis Foundation plans to take steps to demonstrate the
feasibility and efficacy of this strategy in several sites in Asia, Africa and
Latin America. "Zero transmission of leprosy is achievable, but we need to be
better equipped and use innovative approaches if we are to find and treat the
last patients," says Ann Aerts, Head of the Novartis Foundation. "In
collaboration with our partners, we want to play a key role in curbing the
incidence of leprosy."
More information about the program of today's symposium:
www.novartisfoundation.org/symposium.
You can follow the symposium live today as a webcast from 9:00am CET:
www.novartisfoundation.org/webcast.
From 11:30am CET you can download the biographies and photos of speakers, as
well as their speeches: www.novartisfoundation.org/symposium.
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. For over 30 years, the Novartis Foundation has served as a competence center
for corporate responsibility and international health, focused on underserved
communities. NFSD aims to improve access to healthcare, strengthen human
resources in health and empower vulnerable groups. The foundation also fosters
dialogue and networking, acting as a bridge between the private sector,
international organizations, governments and NGOs.
For more information, please visit:
www.novartisfoundation.org
www.youtube.com/novartisfoundation
Disclaimer
This press release contains expressed or implied forward-looking statements,
including statements that can be identified by terminology such as "launches,"
"launch," "pledge," "committed," "plans," or similar expressions. Such forward-
looking statements reflect the current views of the Group 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
expressed or implied by such statements. These expectations could be affected
by, among other things, risks and factors referred to in the Risk Factors
section of Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and
Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release
as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update it in the
future.
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 2012, the Group
achieved net sales of USD 56.7 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted
to approximately USD 9.3 billion (USD 9.1 billion excluding impairment and
amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 133,000
full-time equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around
the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.
Novartis is on Twitter.
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Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 29.11.2013 - 07:15 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 321198
Anzahl Zeichen: 8958
contact information:
Town:
Basel
Kategorie:
Business News
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