Leading Dengue and TB scientists discuss new clinical research
approaches and models of excellence f
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - Corporate news announcement processed and transmitted by Hugin AS.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * According to public health officials, low income countries carry more than 90% of the global disease burden and have less than 10% of funds from public and private sources to deal with them[1] * NEHCRI is a unique role model for clinical TB and Dengue research in endemic regions, utilizing local input to build capacity and develop health infrastructure to treat patients that are most in need * The global prevalence of Dengue has risen by 11 times since 1970[2], and globally, the WHO estimated 9.27 million incidents of TB in 2007, almost 1 million of which occurred in Indonesia[3]Basel, October 19, 2009 - Leading Dengue and TB scientists from theNovartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) are meeting today ata symposium at NEHCRI (Novartis - Eijkman Institute - HasanuddinUniversity Clinical Research Initiative) in Makassar, Indonesia, todiscuss the initiative's clinical research updates. NEHCRI is aunique collaboration comprised of a specialized network of institutesthat are focused on drug discovery, capacity building and traininglocal Indonesian scientists."By building capacity within an endemic region, NEHCRI is becoming amodel of excellence for clinical research," says Paul Herrling, Headof Corporate Research at Novartis and Chairman of the NovartisInstitute for Tropical Diseases. "This initiative also helpsestablish a health infrastructure through knowledge-sharing betweenNovartis scientists and local Indonesian scientists. Ultimately wehope to contribute to Indonesia's network of experienced cliniciansthrough this integrated model."Positive effects of NEHCRI: TB DiagnosticsScientists at NEHCRI are already seeing positive results of themodel's effects, including the development of two epidemiologymanuscripts on tuberculosis, and implementation of translational andoperational studies. The manuscripts on TB, which are currently beingprepared for publication, will be essential when choosing suitablemanagement programs for TB in Makassar."Endemic regions - areas where patients need treatment most - arecurrently lacking in clinical trial capacity," says Prof SangkotMarzuki, Director Eijkman Institute. "However, it is of criticalimportance to conduct clinical trials in endemic areas, so as toensure that the treatments being tested will actually meet thereal-life needs of the patients."The NEHCRI TB laboratory has the capacity to process 2,000 sputumsamples per year, providing a direct impact on TB treatment. Theavailability of proper TB diagnostic tools provides local patientsand doctors access to important resources. Indonesia currently ranksthird on the list of the 22 countries with the highest-burden of TBcases across the globe, with 244 cases per 100,000 people[3]."Success of the existing, high-quality TB diagnostic labs in Makassaris due to close collaboration among the NITD and HasanuddinUniversity Hospital, as well as the National TB Control Program,"says Hasanuddin University Rector Prof Idrus A. Paturusi.NEHCRI and Dengue Research: Focusing on this Growing InternationalDiseaseMore than 50 million cases of Dengue and 500,000 Dengue-relatedhospitalizations occur each year in both developed and developingregions due to the under investment in research and development foreffective tools to detect and treat the disease[2]. Dengue is one ofthe most prevalent emerging diseases in humans with no preventativevaccines or antiviral cures available at present.The Dengue research group at NEHCRI focuses on epidemiology,virology, diagnostics and host response, as they work towarddeveloping Dengue antiviral compounds. Within the establishedresearch setting at the Eijkman Institute of Molecular Biology inJakarta, the NEHCRI research laboratory conducts genomic analysis ofvirus isolates from the clinical laboratory in Makassar.As of August 12, 2009 more than 700 cases of dengue haemorrhagicfever have been recorded in Indonesia, seven of which were fatal. Thenumber of cases has increased compared to last year, when only 500cases were recorded, three of which ended in deaths[4]. The NEHCRIlaboratories in Makassar and Jakarta are staffed by Indonesianscientists whose experience can be applied in potentialcollaborations with other research groups. These partnerships could,in turn, lead to better surveillance and contribute to controllingDengue in Indonesia.About NITDThe NITD hosts events in endemic regions, such as today's symposiumat NEHCRI, to help scientists and partners understand the true impactof these diseases and the unique local challenges doctors, cliniciansand patients in the region face.The NITD represents a major part of Novartis' bid to improve thedeveloping world's access to medicines. The NITD's overarching goalis to discover novel treatments and prevention methods for majortropical diseases. In those developing countries where these diseasesare endemic, the Novartis Group intends to make treatments readilyavailable without profit.The focus of the NITD is to apply Novartis' drug-discovery expertiseand cutting-edge technology platforms to fight against infectiousdiseases that are currently not well covered by modern treatmentregimens, particularly Dengue fever and tuberculosis.DisclaimerThe foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can beidentified by terminology such as "hope," "will," "work towarddeveloping," "potential," "could," or similar expressions, or byexpress or implied discussions regarding the development of potentialnew products against Dengue or TB, or regarding potential futurerevenues from such products.. You should not place undue reliance onthese statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect thecurrent views of management regarding future events, and involveknown and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that maycause actual results to be materially different from any futureresults, performance or achievements expressed or implied by suchstatements. There can be no guarantee that Novartis will successfullydevelop any products against Dengue or TB, or that any such productswill be submitted or approved for sale in any market. Nor can therebe any guarantee that such products will achieve any particularlevels of revenue in the future. In particular, management'sexpectations regarding such products could be affected by, amongother things, research and development difficulties, unexpectedclinical trial results, including unexpected new clinical data andunexpected additional analysis of existing clinical data; unexpectedregulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; thecompany's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietaryintellectual property protection; competition in general; government,industry and general public pricing pressures; the impact that theforegoing factors could have on the values attributed to the NovartisGroup's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group'sconsolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred toin Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities andExchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks oruncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions proveincorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated,believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing theinformation in this press release as of this date and does notundertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statementscontained in this press release as a result of new information,future events or otherwise.About NovartisNovartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolvingneeds of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare,Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs:innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventivevaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis isthe only company with leading positions in each of these areas. In2008, the Group's continuing operations achieved net sales of USD41.5 billion and net income of USD 8.2 billion. Approximately USD 7.2billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group.Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employapproximately 99,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate inmore than 140 countries around the world. For more information,please visit http://www.novartis.com.References[1] National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), USAAvailable at: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/[2] Mackenzie et al., 2004[3] World Health Organization (WHO) Global TB Report 2009.Available at:http://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_report/2009/en/index.html[4]World Health Organization, "Dengue Fever in Indonesia."Available at: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_02_26a/en/index.html # # #Novartis Media RelationsCentral media line : +41 61 324 2200Eric AlthoffNovartis Global Media Relations+41 61 324 7999 (direct)+41 79 593 4202 (mobile)eric.althoff(at)novartis.come-mail: media.relations(at)novartis.comNovartis Investor RelationsCentral phone: +41 61 324 7944Ruth Metzler-Arnold +41 61 324 9980 North America:Pierre-Michel Bringer +41 61 324 1065 Richard Jarvis +1 212 830 2433John Gilardi +41 61 324 3018 Jill Pozarek +1 212 830 2445Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 8425 Edwin Valeriano +1 212 830 2456Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188e-mail: investor.relations(at)novartis.comhttp://hugin.info/134323/R/1348156/324362.pdf --- End of Message ---Novartis International AGPosfach Basel WKN: 904278; ISIN: CH0012005267; Index: SLCI, SMI, SPI, SLIFE;Listed: Main Market in SIX Swiss Exchange, ZLS in BX Berne eXchange;
Datum: 19.10.2009 - 07:01 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
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