Pfizer to ‘expand tropical disease research’

Pfizer announced today that it is to expand research into tropical diseases through collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The arrangement will lead to increased speed in the discovery of new drugs to combat some of the world’s “most deadly parasitic diseases”, such as malaria, Afrrican trypanosomiasis and Chagas’ disease.

Scientists associated with the Compound Evaluation Network sponsored by the WHO will test “thousands of compounds” in the Pfizer library under the agreement. The process, called “screening”, will allow researchers to identify initial activity against a range of tropical parasites.

Dr Robert Ridley, director of WHO, commented: “This agreement with Pfizer is a step forward in expanding worldwide capacity in tropical disease research, because it enhances access to research tools for developing country researchers and expands access to large numbers of compounds for screening to identify new leads.”

Dr Ridley added that he hopes the new collaboration will lead to other pharmaceutical companies joining and expanding WHO tropical disease research networks, with Pfizer initially providing 12,000 compounds for the project.

Pfizer states that it is “constantly seeking” new medicines used to treat populations across the globe, which include infectious diseases such as malaria.

Recently, NICE rejected the manufacturer’s appeal against a recommendation restricting the use of Alzheimer’s drugs to patients with moderate forms of the disease. Pfizer said that NICE had ignored expert evidence that such drugs are of benefits to patients with mild forms of the disease, reports EasyBourse.

Oliver Brandicourt, managing director of Pfizer UK, commented: “Alone in the world, patients in England and Wales will lose the chance to fight Alzheimer’s disease at an early stage.”