Contact Information: Contact: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development Charlene Neu 617-636-2187 Business Communication Strategies Peter Lowy 617-734-9980
New Products to Treat Neglected Diseases Are on the Rise, According to Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - November 17, 2009) - New products to treat neglected diseases have
received marketing approval from regulatory agencies at a steadily
increasing rate in recent years as R&D funding for those diseases has
increased, according to a recently completed study by the Tufts Center for
the Study of Drug Development.
According to the study, the annual rate of new product approvals worldwide
for neglected diseases increased from an average of 1.8 in 1975-99 to 2.6
in 2000-09.
Neglected diseases include malaria, kinetoplastids, diarrheal diseases,
helminths (e.g., roundworm), bacterial pneumonia and meningitis, and
typhoid and paratyphoid fever.
"During this past decade, a significant increase in R&D funding for
neglected diseases has led to marketing approval for 26 drugs and
vaccines," said Joshua Cohen, senior research fellow at Tufts CSDD Director
of Economic Analysis and author of the study.
He added, "While increased approvals are necessary to improve access,
policymakers need to ensure that safe, effective, and easy-to-administer
products are adopted by health care systems and providers on a consistent
basis, that they are affordable, and that they reach the people who need
them."
The Tufts CSDD analysis examined the results of a widely circulated 2002
study, which reported that only 16 of 1393 new chemical entities marketed
between 1975 and 1999 targeted tropical diseases and tuberculosis. Tufts
CSDD found that the more accurate count was 33. However, the earlier study
prompted governments, nonprofit foundations, and private-public
partnerships to increase funding for neglected diseases, from less than
$100 million annually a decade ago to more than $2.5 billion annually
today.
The new analysis, reported in the November/December Tufts CSDD Impact
Report, released today, also found that:
* Drugs to treat HIV/AIDS and malaria accounted for 81% of approvals during
2000-09.
* Vaccines have displaced drugs as the main products being developed for
neglected diseases, accounting for 76% of all products in development to
treat neglected diseases.
* Public-private partnerships accounted for 46% of all new product
development to treat neglected diseased during 2000-09, up from 15% in the
1975-99 period.
About the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
The Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (http://csdd.tufts.edu)
at Tufts University provides strategic information to help drug developers,
regulators, and policy makers improve the quality and efficiency of
pharmaceutical development, review, and utilization. Tufts CSDD, based in
Boston, conducts a wide range of in-depth analyses on pharmaceutical issues
and hosts symposia, workshops, and public forums, and publishes the Tufts
CSDD Impact Report, a bi-monthly newsletter providing analysis and insight
into critical drug development issues.