Sanofi pledges action against five tropical diseases

Sanofi has committed to supporting global efforts to combat or eliminate five neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) from now until 2020.

In partnership with Eisai and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the company will aid the World Health Organization (WHO) by donating 120 million tablets of the lymphatic filariasis drug diethylcarbamazine in 2012 and 2013.

Meanwhile, the company will also be joining the WHO and other organisations in combating human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, Chagas disease and Buruli ulcer.

This builds on existing partnerships between Sanofi and the WHO and comes as part of the new London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases, which has seen 13 pharmaceutical companies ally with charities and government bodies to tackle health issues in developing nations.

Christopher Viehbacher, chief executive officer of Sanofi, said: "I am convinced that through our partnerships and combined efforts, sleeping sickness and lymphatic filariasis will be eliminated and effective control of other neglected tropical diseases will be achieved."

This comes after the company made a new pledge to combat malaria at the recent Pan African Conference against Malaria.